The Godparents
by abbymickey24
Summary: A tragedy leaves two little babies orphans. Can the two their parents have chosen to raise them get past the obstacles they will face? Can they find love in the process? AH- B/J
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:****Yeah I don't own it. I just like to turn all of them human and have my fun with them. **

**Thanks to my pre-readers: Vegatenshi, Jaspersbella, and Kim Rathbone**

**The wonderful christag_banner made me a beautiful banner. Link is on my profile.  
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**Hope you enjoy.**

**-TG-**_**  
><strong>_

_**Bella**_

When I was nine I met my best friend, Alice. We were complete opposites, but somehow our friendship just worked.

When we were fourteen, Edward joined our two person group. I knew right away he and Alice were destined to be together. At our young age we didn't really understand the true concept of what love was, but I could see the way they were with each other.

When we were sixteen, they finally pulled their heads out of their asses and realized what I'd known for two years. They were in love.

When we were eighteen, we graduated high school and the three of us separated for college. I was staying in Seattle at the University of Washington. Alice went to New York and Parsons. Edward, for some reason, went south to the University of Texas.

When we were nineteen, Alice and I traveled to Texas for a week and that's when we met Jasper, Edward's new best friend. He was an okay guy, friendly and polite. What I imagined all southern boys to be, so we had a fun week.

When we were twenty-one, all four of us were in New York visiting Alice when Edward proposed. She said yes, of course.

When we were twenty-two, all four of us graduated from college. Me with a degree in Photography, Alice's was for Fashion Design and Business, Edward and Jasper, both had a degree in teaching with an emphasis in Music. Edward and Alice moved back to Seattle and Jasper stayed in Texas.

When we were twenty-three, we were all settled nicely in our jobs and we were happy. We spoke often with Jasper since we were also in the process of planning a wedding.

When we were twenty-four, we celebrated that wedding in a night of laughter and fun. It was also the night I got drunk and had sex with Jasper. We didn't tell Alice or Edward, not wanting either of them to make more out of it than it was.

When we were twenty-five, Jasper and I watched as Alice brought their twins into this world. Joshua Aiden Cullen looked just like his mother and Kinsley Grace Cullen looked just like her father.

It's been just over six months since that day and I thought nothing could have ever destroyed the perfect family my best friends had created.

I was wrong.

**-TG-**

**Well? And yes the chapters will get longer.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: ****Yeah I don't own it. I just like to turn all of them human and have my fun with them. **

**Thanks to my pre-reader: Kim Rathbone you are such a big help.  
><strong>

**The wonderful christag_banner made me a beautiful banner. Link is on my profile.  
><strong>

**Hope you enjoy.**

**Tissue warning: 6 out of 10 tissues.**

**-TG-**

_**Bella**_

**Ring, ring...**

I groaned and rolled over, pushing my head under my pillow.

**Ring, ring...**

I groaned again and rolled over onto my back, glaring at my clock when I found I'd only been asleep for an hour.

**Ring, ring...**

Who the hell was calling me at one in the morning? Pushing myself up I grabbed my phone and hit answer, not bothering to look at the caller ID.

"Hello."

"_Bells..."_

"Dad?" I asked becoming more alert.

"_Baby, you need to come to Mercy."_

"What? Are you okay?"

"_Yes, but Alice and Edward..." _His voice trailed off and I shot out of the bed.

"Alice and Edward what? Dad?"

"_They were in a car wreck Bells. It's not good. You need to come to Mercy."_

"The twins?" I asked as I moved around my room, grabbing my clothes from earlier.

"_They're okay. They were with Esme."_

"Okay." I said breathing a small sigh of relief. "I'm on my way."

"_All right. Please be careful."_

"I will. I love you dad."

"_Love you too Bells."_

I flipped my phone closed and rushed around, getting dressed. I quickly shoved my phone into my pocket and went out to the living room, picking up my bag and keys.

Once I had everything I needed I flew out my front door and down the stairs to my car. The entire drive to the hospital I was chanting 'they're okay, they're okay'. It was the only thing that kept me from completely losing it.

Pulling into the emergency parking lot ten minutes later I immediately saw my dad standing outside the doors. I quickly found a spot and parked, getting out as fast as I could and hurrying toward the building.

When I was just a few steps away from dad I asked, "How are they?"

He looked up and his distraught face told me all I needed to know. Stopping in my tracks I shook my head back and forth. "Dad..."

"I'm sorry, baby girl, but we lost both of them." He said moving forward quickly and catching me as my knees buckled. I clutched onto his shirt as the tears streamed endlessly down my face.

This could not be happening. I'd talked to Alice just over three hours ago and she was fine. They were both fine and now...now they were... "NO!" Dad jumped as the word burst from me and I pushed on his chest, throwing him off balance so he had to move his arms to catch himself.

Pushing up to my feet I started for the ER doors, but his hand on my arm stopped me. When I tried to brush him off he said, "Bella, stop."

"I can't dad. I need to see them."

"Honey, you can't."

"Why not? They were my best friends. I need to see them dad. Please..."

"You can't, Bella. Just trust me on this okay? You don't want to see them like they are now."

His words finally sank in and I pulled me arms away as I backed up. When I felt something solid behind me I slid down and pulled my knees up to my chest. Dad settled beside me and slipped his arm around my shoulder.

I don't know how long we sat there before I asked, "Did anyone call Jasper?"

"Emmett did as I called you. He said he would be here as soon as he could get a flight."

I nodded and we continued to sit there.

We didn't move or say anything again until the ER doors slid open and out walked Edward's parents, Carlisle and Esme, and his older brother, Emmett.

I pushed up to my feet and immediately went over to them. Esme was being supported in between Emmett and Carlisle and I could tell that she was completely lost in her grief. I could understand it, since she'd just lost not only her son, but also the woman who had been like a daughter since we'd met Edward.

She didn't even look up when I touched her arm. Emmett, however, reached over and drew me into his side, squeezing my shoulder.

"What can I do, Carlisle?" Dad asked.

"I don't know, Charlie." He said, looking just as broken as Esme did.

"Where are the twins?" I asked, trying to keep the tears from coming again.

"At mom and dad's house. Rosie is with them." Emmett whispered.

I nodded. Rose was Emmett's wife and a sweetheart, so I knew they were being taken care of.

"I guess we can go home." Carlisle said after a minute and looking back at the hospital. "There's nothing more we can do here."

At his words Esme collapsed and he reached down, picking her up in his arms. The sight of her grief broke the hold I had on mine and I couldn't stop the flow of tears.

Dad came over and gently took me from Emmett's side as he moved to help his dad and then all of us moved toward the cars.

Dad waited until Carlisle had Esme settled in the backseat before he said, "We'll follow you to your house."

"Thank you, Charlie."

We waited until Emmett backed the car out of the spot before moving on to my car. I handed over my keys and Dad helped me into the passenger seat before rushing around and getting in.

I was quiet for most of the twenty minute drive, but then I asked, "Dad?"

"Yeah, Bells?"

"What happened?"

He sighed heavily and though my peripheral I saw him glance over at me. I knew he was debating on telling me, but I needed to know.  
>"Please dad."<p>

"It was a drunk driver going too fast. He swerved over the yellow line and hit them head on."

"Did they...?" I stopped to choke back the lump that had formed in my throat, but I didn't need to finish my question.

"Edward died instantly. They lost Alice on the way to the hospital, but she never gained consciousness. So no, baby girl, they didn't suffer."

"And the drunk driver?"

"He was killed as well."

"Good." I spat.

"Bells?"

"He or she killed my best friends. They made two little babies, who aren't going to understand mommy and daddy not being there anymore, orphans. Am I supposed to be okay with that?"

"No, but-"

"She was like a daughter to you too dad. Even more so after her parents died."

"I know, Bells. I know." He reached over and patted my hand, but said nothing else and we fell silent.

We didn't speak for the last few minutes of the drive and pulled into the Cullens' driveway, parking behind Rose's car.

We went inside, finding Emmett and Rose in the living room. Their 4 year old son, Andrew, was sleeping on the couch in between them.

"Hey, Bella...Charlie." Rose said giving us a sad smile.

We both returned her greeting before sitting down across from them.

"Where are the babies?" I asked.

"Upstairs. Mom wanted to be with them."

I nodded and leaned back against the cushions, closing my eyes.

I don't know how much time had passed before a knocking on the front door broke the silence that had descended on the room.

I opened my eyes and watched as dad stood to go answer, coming back seconds later with Jasper following behind him.

I stood and he came straight to me, wrapping his arms around my waist and burying his face into my neck. I could feel the wetness from his tears and I blinked back my own. The family needed someone to be strong right now and as the best friend that job fell to me.

Jasper and I stood there for a few more minutes before he pulled back and moved over to sit in an armchair. Emmett and Rose woke up and they gave him a sad smile in greeting to which he inclined his head.

Watching them I knew what I had to do. Sucking in a deep breath I shut down my emotions.

"Does anyone want any coffee?" I asked.

Everyone nodded and I started to head into the kitchen when dad stopped me. "Bells, I can get it."

"I got it dad."

He looked at me for a second before letting me go on into the other room. I busied myself with starting the coffee pot and gathering the sugar and cream. While the coffee was brewing I found things in the fridge to make a breakfast casserole. No one would probably feel up to eating, but it would be there.

Once I had it mixed up and in the oven I poured out the coffee and placed it on a tray, carrying it into the living room. As I set it down onto the coffee table I heard someone coming down the steps. Turning around I found Carlisle just reaching the bottom.

"The twins are awake." He said.

I immediately went back toward the kitchen to make them up bottles. Alice had tried to breast feed, but with two of them her small frame couldn't produce enough milk, so there was always formula on hand to top them off.

Carlisle followed behind me and leaned against the counter as I worked.

"How's Esme?" I asked after a few minutes.

"Not good. She hasn't spoken a word since the hospital and I don't want to leave her but I know things need to be done today."

"Just tell me what to do, Carlisle."

"I can't ask that of you, Bella."

"You didn't, I'm offering. Alice and Edward were the siblings I never had. Let me do this while you take care of Esme and the twins. They need you."

He thought about it for a few seconds before nodding his head in agreement. "Okay, I'll get you the numbers for the funeral home, cemetery, and the preacher. The funerals should be on Monday. I'll call our extended family if you'll call Edward and Alice's work. I'll give you the numbers for their bosses."

"Okay. What about the...other details?"

"I trust your judgment and so does Esme.

"All right." I said with a nod.

Carlisle came over and gave me a hug whispering his thanks. Before he took the bottles back upstairs he gave me his credit card to use.

I stayed in the kitchen until the casserole was done and then plated up two servings. As I carried it and coffee toward the stairs I let the others know it was ready.

I took the tray up to the master bedroom and knocked softly on the door. Carlisle opened it for me and I caught sight of Esme lying on the bed with a twin on either side of her.

"Thank you, Bella." He said taking the tray from my hands.

He moved into the room placing the tray on his desk and picked up a sheet of paper. He came back over and handed it to me.

As I started to turn I heard, "Thank you, Bella."

Looking back over my shoulder I found Esme's tear filled eyes on me.

"You're welcome, Esme." I whispered.

I went back downstairs and grabbed my cell phone out of my purse before going out on the back deck.

I made the first necessary call, intent on making an appointment to meet with the funeral director. However, when I spoke with him I found that everything was already picked out and paid for. Alice and Edward had done it all when they found out they were going to have the babies. All I had to do was give him the date and time of the funerals. In turn, he gave me a time when we could be there tomorrow morning.

The same thing happened with the cemetery as well.

I then called Alice's and Edward's bosses who expressed their sympathy. They said they'd get in touch with the employees that were friends with them.

Once I hung up from that call I dropped down into one of the patio chairs and took a minute to breathe.

When I heard the backdoor open I glanced up, finding Jasper.

"What are you doing?" He asked as he sat down in another chair.

"I was making some phone calls that needed to be made."

"Oh, can I help with anything?"

"No." I said. "Alice and Edward already did everything."

"What?"

"They'd already chosen and paid for everything. The funeral director said they'd come in right after they found out she was pregnant."

"Seriously?" He asked shocked.

"Yeah, he said it wasn't unusual. That they have a lot of people do that so it helps take some of the burden off of the spouse just in case."

"Do you think they knew?"

"I don't know Jasper. I don't know anything right now, except life isn't fair."

"Yeah," He whispered before falling quite.

We sat there for a little while longer before I stood and said, "I need to go let Carlisle know what's going on and then run home for a little bit."

He stood up too. "Yeah, I need to go find a hotel and some clothes."

"Clothes?" I questioned in confusion.

"I wasn't at home when Emmett called. I went straight to the airport."

"Oh. You can stay with me if you want. I have a guest room."

"Thanks, Bella."

I nodded. "Did you take a cab here or rent a car?"

"I took a cab."

"Well, if you want to ride with me then we'll just run to my place and I'll shower. Then we can go to the mall."

"Are you sure you don't mind? I can take a cab to the mall too."

"I'm sure. I need to get a new dress."

"Alright."

We both went into the house and I ran upstairs. Carlisle was just as surprised as I was about the arrangements, but I could tell he was also relieved.

I let him know everything else and then I went back down to the living room. Jasper stood as I stopped in the doorway, drawing all eyes to me.

"Jasper and I are going to run out for a little while. Does anyone need anything?"

"No," Rose said. "We'll run home and get our things when you two get back."

"Okay, dad do you need anything?" I asked turning to him.

"Do you mind dropping me off at my house? I can change and get my car then come back over. That way they can go get what they need too." He said nodding toward Emmett and Rose.

"Of course not."

He stood and after a quick goodbye to the others the three of us headed out to my car.

We dropped dad off first and then went over to my place. While I took a quick shower and changed Jasper made a list of what he would need for the next few days.

Once we were both finished we left my apartment and went to the mall, spending a few hours getting the things we needed.

We returned to my place where Jasper showered and changed and then we went back to Carlisle and Esme's.

As we walked up the front steps I took a deep breath, centering myself and pulling forth the strength I would need for the next few days.

Those few days passed in a blur. I made sure every one ate, answered the door or phone, took care of the food people brought over, and whatever else was needed.

The viewing, Sunday, was horrible and not a way I ever wanted to see my friends, but I had to stay strong. Esme was completely drowning in her grief by the time we made it back to their place. So much so that Carlisle had to sedate her and he wasn't much better.

The funeral the next day was no better. I had to fight to keep from breaking down, but after glancing over at Esme, Carlisle, Emmett, and Rose it was easier.

It was a beautiful service, if you could call something like that beautiful. The sun was shining brightly and the day wasn't too hot or cold. The flowers that surrounded both caskets were Alice's favorite ones and the songs played where Edward's favorites.

The preacher spoke about their love for each other, the twins, their family and their friends. About how much they would be missed and were loved in return.

In the end it was something I hated being a part of and I never wanted to deal with something like that again. EVER.

After we watched the caskets being lowered into the ground we all returned to Esme and Carlisle's house. It was already filled with people milling around and getting in the way. Rose and I took the twins upstairs, to lay them down for a nap, before going back down to deal with everything.

For the next two hours I refilled trays and glasses, picked up trash, and made sure people were comfortable.

When I had a full bag of cups and plates I carried it out back to the trash can and took a minute to catch my breath. As I stepped back into the kitchen I heard my dad and Jasper whispering just outside the door.

"I'm worried about her." Dad said. "She's doing too much and I can't tell you when it was she ate something. Has she been sleeping?"

"I don't know, Charlie but she's been awake both days when I've gotten up. So, I would guess not really."

"Damn it."

"Has she cried at all?"

"At the hospital when she found out, but other than that I haven't seen anything. She didn't even cry today I don't think."

"No she didn't. I thought for a minute there she was going to, but then she looked at Esme and the others. It's like she's holding it in."

"And eventually it's going to come out." Dad sighed. "It's not going to be good either."

I didn't hear Jasper respond since someone else walked up then. Not wanting to be caught eavesdropping, especially since they would question me, I went back outside. I was fine and they didn't need to worry about me. My focus needed to be on Esme, Carlisle, Aiden, Kinsley, Emmett, and Rose right now. My feelings or comfort didn't matter at the moment.

I waited for just a few seconds before opening the door back up and stepping inside. As I shut it dad, Jasper, and Seth Clearwater came around the corner. Seth was Alice and Edward's lawyer, but also a friend. As was his wife Angela who Alice and I had met in college. She wasn't here today, having been put on bed rest last month because of her first pregnancy.

"Hey, Bella." Seth said.

"Hey, Seth. How's Angela?"

"She's okay."

"Good." I said moving around the kitchen. "Tell her I'll call later in the week."

"I will." He said before looking between me and Jasper. "Can the two of you meet me at my office on Wednesday at 2?"

"I can." I said.

"I can as well," Jasper said. "My flight home isn't until Friday."

"Good because things need to be taken care of before you leave."

"Why?" I asked.

"We'll leave that for Wednesday. Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, and Rosalie will be there as well."

I didn't ask anymore questions, realizing it had something to do with their will.

"Okay, we'll see you Wednesday then."

"See you then."

Seth reached over and shook Jasper's hand before giving me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. He patted dad on the shoulder as he left the kitchen and I went back to cleaning up.

"Bells, have you eaten today?" Dad asked.

"I'm not hungry."

"That's not what I asked you. Have you eaten today?"

"I don't remember. I've been busy."

His hand came down on top of mine as I pushed a sponge across the counter. Glancing up he said, "Go eat."

"I will as soon as I'm-"

"I wasn't asking." He said cutting me off.

I looked at him a few more minutes and realized he was serious. Huffing I let go of the sponge. "Fine."

As I turned a plate of food appeared on the counter. Glancing up I found Jasper giving me a small smile.

"Thanks." I whispered reaching for it.

He shrugged a shoulder. "I have to look out for you. It's what they would have wanted."

With that he turned and left the kitchen. I couldn't help the sad smile as I thought about our best friends, knowing he was right.

**-TG-**

**Well? How was it?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: ****Yeah I don't own it. I just like to turn all of them human and have my fun with them. **

**Thanks to my pre-reader: Kim Rathbone you are such a big help.  
><strong>

**The wonderful christag_banner made me a beautiful banner. Link is on my profile.  
><strong>

**Hope you enjoy.**

**Tissue warning: 10 out of 10 tissues. Bella breaks in this one instead of the next one. **

**-TG-**

_**Bella**_

My eyes were heavy and unfocused as I trudged to the bathroom Thursday morning. I hadn't slept well last night, knowing that today we all were meeting with Seth. I'd been so good about holding myself together this last week, but not knowing what Seth was going to say today wasn't sitting well with me. I didn't want to break down in the middle of his office or in front of Esme and Carlisle.

She was doing a little better, but l I didn't want her to have to worry about me. And she would because that's just who Esme was; she couldn't help but worry.

I propped my hands onto my counter and took a look in the mirror. My hair was knotted from my tossing and turning, dark circles colored the skin under my eyes, my skin was paler than normal, and my lips were close to being the same color. I looked absolutely horrible and I couldn't have cared less.

Fixing how I looked wouldn't bring my friends back so what was the point.

With a sigh I turned and flipped on the shower, letting the water heat up while I stripped down. Once I was done I jumped in, showering quickly. After I finished I dried off and dressed in a pair of black slacks, button-up, and ballet flats. I returned to the bathroom and ran some gel through my wet hair, brushed my teeth, and then called myself good to go.

Going out to the kitchen I started the coffee pot, staring at it until it finished the brewing cycle. I grabbed a cup from the cupboard and poured a cup, adding my sugar and cream before taking a small sip and letting the warmth spread through me.

I was only alone a few minute more before Jasper came walking around the corner, his hair still wet from his own shower.

"Morning," He said grabbing a cup for himself.

"Morning."

He didn't say anything else as he fixed his coffee and leaned across from against the other counter.

After taking a drink he asked, "You want to get some breakfast?"

"I'm not hungry."

"Bella, you need to eat."

"I will when I'm hungry."

He looked like he was going to argue further, but stopped himself before saying anything.

We finished our coffee in silence and then separated back into the bedrooms, not coming out again until it was time to leave for Seth's office.

Jasper drove as I spent the fifteen minute drive staring out the window and trying to will the nerves away.

When we finally pulled into the parking lot I could see Carlisle's Mercedes and Emmett's Jeep already there. After finding our own spot, Jasper and I walked inside, giving and receiving tense smiles. We both sat down on the other side of Rose and Emmett and my nerves came back full force.

We didn't have to wait long before Seth opened his office door.

"Thank you for coming," He said looking at all of us. "Carlisle...Esme, I'd like to see you two first, please."

Carlisle nodded and stood, helping Esme up too. He kept his arm around her shoulders as they walked into Seth's office, the door closing behind them.

I didn't realize I was biting my nails until Jasper's hand gripped my wrist, pulling on it. I dropped my hand into my lap and gave him a small smile in thanks. He nodded slightly in return and we went back to waiting.

We only had to wait about 20 more minutes before Carlisle and Esme came out and you could immediately tell they'd both been crying.

As they took their seats again Seth said, "Emmett and Rosalie if you'll please come in now."

They both looked to Carlisle and Esme before standing up and going into Seth's office. Carlisle and Esme were silent except for an occasional sniff and I couldn't help but wonder what had happened. Granted, there was no way I was going to ask.

Again about 20 minutes passed before Rose and Emmett stepped out of the office. Again I saw they'd both been crying. And again I wanted to know what had happened.

I briefly wondered if Jasper or I would be first, but then Seth said, "Bella...Jasper if you would both come in now."

Jasper and I looked at each other, surprise was clearly written on his face and I'm sure he could see it on mine. We both stood and I chanced a quick glance at the others, receiving another surprise. They were all watching us and each of the four had small smiles on their lips.

Jasper's hand on my back kept me from questioning them about what was going on and with a sigh I walked into Seth's office.

He waved us into the two chairs in front of his desk. We settled down in them and then Seth got down to business.

"Now, as I'm sure you've figured out this isn't the typical way a will is read, but it is what Alice and Edward wanted. They came to me about a month before the twins were born, after watching a talk show.

"The episode was about both parents passing away unexpectedly and leaving children behind. They told me there were three different families on the show and that two of them had done nothing to make arrangements for their children. The last had and that is what Edward and Alice wanted.

"It wasn't hard to decide that everything that belonged to them went to the twins. Now you both know that Alice and Edward both had trust funds. Hers from her parents' deaths and his from his grandparents. What is left in those is a substantial amount and has now been placed in a trust for each of the babies. They will be able to access it when they are 18, but only to use for college. If they choose at the time not to go to college however, they are not allowed access until they are 25. If they do chose to go to college tuition will be paid in one lump sum and then an allowance will be provided each month for books and whatever else they may need. Upon graduation they would then be able to access the trust in full.

"Edward and Alice also had a substantial life insurance policy on both of them and if their deaths were the cause of an accident that policy doubled; which it has. Half of the policy will be again halved and placed in each trust. The other half has been placed into a checking account, so that whatever they may need while growing up can be provided for them.

"Once all of that was decided it was then time to decide who would be there for the twins as they grew, providing love and guidance and being the parents that Alice and Edward had wanted to be. They chose the two of you."

I blinked and stared at Seth like he'd just spoken a foreign language. Jasper, however, seemed to understand what it was.

"They what?"

Seth smiled like he was expecting that reaction. "They chose the two of you." He repeated.

I continued to stare and blink.

"Why? I mean...why?" Jasper asked.

Seth looked down at his desk and picked up a white envelope; mine and Jasper's names written across the front in Edward's handwriting. He held it across the desk and Jasper leaned forward, taking it from him.

I turned my shocked expression toward him and watched as he tore it open and pulled out the sheet of paper inside, reading it to himself.

Different emotions flashed across his face and when he finished he looked up at me, his eyes glassy. He held out the letter to me and I swallowed down the lump in my throat as I took it from him.

I closed my eyes briefly and took in a deep breath before reading the letter...

_Dear __Bella __and __Jasper__, _

_Not__ what __you __expected __huh__? __Yeah__, __Alice__ and__ I__ were __really __hoping __it __wouldn__'__t __be __necessary__, __but__ if __you__'__re __reading __this __then __that __means __it __was__. _

_You__'__re__ probably __asking __yourself __why__. __Why __the __two__ of __you __and __not __mom __and __dad __or __Emmett__ and __Rose__. _

_Well__, __we__ didn__'__t__ choose __mom__ and __dad__ because __they__'__ve __already__ raised__ their __children__. __They__'__ve __done __their __jobs __and__ should __be__ able __to __enjoy __their__ time __as __grandparents __instead__ of __being __parents __again__. _

_Emmett__ and __Rose __already__ have__ one __child __and __we __know__ they __want __more__. __They__ shouldn__'__t __have __to __wait__ or __be __made __to __feel __like __they __can__'__t __b__ecause __they__'__re __busy __raising__ ours__. __They __shouldn__'__t __have __to __worry __about __whether __or __not __they__'__re __neglecting __one__ over __the __other__. __And__ they __would__ because __that__'__s __who__ they __are__. _

_Now__ for __the __reason __we __chose__ the __two __of __you__. __You__'__re __our __best __friends __for __a __reason__. __You__'__re__ like __us __and __we __know __you __will __raise __the __twins __like __we __would __have__. _

_Aiden __will__ learn __what __it __means __to __be __a__ gentleman__. __Kinsley __will __learn __not __to __take __shit __from __anyone__. __Just__ please__, __Bella__, __don__'__t __teach __them __to __be __clumsy__. __We__'__d__ really __appreciate__ it__. _

_They__'__ll __learn __to __be __there__ for __each__ other __when__ they __need __a __shoulder __to __lean__ on __and __to __be __each__ others__ best __friend__. __But __they__'__ll __also __learn __that __it__ is __okay __to __be __independent as well__. _

_Most __important __they__'__ll __learn __what __it __means__ to__ be __loved __because__ the__ two__ of__ you__ are __the __most __loving__ people__ we __know__. _

_We __know __both __of __you __haven__'__t__ been__ around__ that__ many__ kids__, __we __know __that __it__'__s __going __to__ be __hard__, __and __we __know __that __the __both __of __you __will __have__ to__ make __sacrifices__, __but__ we__ wouldn__'__t__ have __asked __this__ of__ you __if__ we __thought__ you __couldn__'__t__ do __it__. __We __trust__ the__ two__ of__ you __completely __and__ we__ know__ you__ will __love __our __children__ like__ they__ are __your __own__. _

_Just __remember __we__'__ll __always__ be __there __watching __over __you__, __probably __cringing __every __now__ and __then__, __but__ still __knowing __we __made__ the __right __decision__. _

_We __love __you __guys__, __you __were __like __our __sister __and __our __brother__, __and__ we__ know__ that __you__'__re __both__ going __to__ do__ a __hell __of __a __job__. _

_Just __please __tell __them__ about__ us__, __but__ only __the__ good__ things__. _

_Love__ always__,_

_Edward__ and __Alice_

Air left my lungs in a quick gush as I fought to keep the tears away. This was so unexpected. I'd seriously thought that Emmett and Rosalie would have been chosen to take in the twins. Never in a million years would I have thought it would have been me and Jasper. Maybe if we were married or even together for that matter, but hell, he didn't even live in Seattle or Washington for that matter.

"So...what...where...what do we do?" I stuttered out.

"Well first, the two of you have to decide if this is something you can and want to do. It's a huge responsibility and there is two very big conditions." Seth said.

"What?" I asked, granted I already knew what my answer was and it wouldn't change.

"First, the both of you would need to move into Alice and Edward's house."

"But my life is in Texas." Jasper said.

"I know..." Seth said. "...but they wanted the twins to have some since of normalcy. Plus, they specifically bought that house with the thought of having children in the future. The neighborhood is excellent as is the school system."

"But what if we meet someone and want to marry them? Do we all live in the same house or do Bella and I act like a divorced couple, handing the twins off every week."

"I brought up that same question to Alice and Edward. It led to them giving the second condition. If at anytime that is factored in then you would have to all live together until the twins are 18."

"What woman or man would be okay with that?" Jasper asked.

"One that loved you. They will need to know that you are a package deal. The twins come first and if you choose to do this you have to be in it for the long haul."

Before Jasper could keep going I asked, "What else?"

"Those are the biggest thing. The rest is little stuff. They want the twins to do music lessons and any other extra-curricular activity they wanted. Music was a specific requirement although Aiden and Kinsley could choose what form." That wasn't a surprise. Edward was a music teacher after all. "Family vacations each year when the twins are old enough and to a different place. They want them to see the world." I couldn't help, but smile knowing that one was Alice all the way. "Esme is to watch them during the day because they would never ask either of you to give up your careers."

"Is that it?" I asked when Seth stopped speaking.

"Yes."

"How long before we have to decide?" Jasper asked and I jerked my head toward him.

"You have to think about it?"

"You don't?"

"No." I sneered before ignoring him and turning back to Seth. "What do I need to do now?"

He looked back and forth between the Jasper and I before sighing. "Jasper has to agree too."

"What?"

"Jasper has to agree as well. It has to be both of you or neither of you. Twins are a big undertaking and not something they wanted _you_ to do alone."

I didn't miss the emphasis he'd put on you and gave him a confused look.

Seth chuckled in understanding and said, "They were your best friends, Bella. They knew you'd jump on board with no questions asked."

"So what happens to them if he says no?"

"If that was to happen, they go to Emmett and Rosalie. But I have to say that's not what they wanted. I've read the letter they gave you. Edward wrote it sitting here in this very office and they were pretty clear on who they wanted raising and loving their children."

I nodded and looked to Jasper, silently pleading with him to say yes.

He finally sighed and scrubbed his hand through his hair. "How long before I need to give you an answer?"

"As soon as possible. I need to start on the legal guardianship papers and things like that. But I know you and Bella need to talk about it too."

"We don't need to talk about it." I hissed. "Just say yes."

"I can't Bella. Not yet. We have to talk about this." He said looking apologetic, but it didn't diffuse the anger that was slowly building.

"There is nothing to talk about."

"Seriously? I would have to give up the life I've built in Texas. I have a job, my brother and his wife are there, and I have a girlfriend."

Ah yes, that bitch. Alice, Edward, and I had had the absolute displeasure of meeting her right after the twins were born. She'd been short and snotty the entire time she was around. Jasper's attitude hadn't been much better either. "You've only been together for seven months."

"That doesn't matter. I would still have to either break up with her or have a long distance relationship."

"Sounds like an easy decision to me." Meaning more than doing it for the sake of the twins.

"It would."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means you don't have anybody, so you can say that. Plus, you don't have to give up anything except a two bedroom apartment and a short drive to work."

My hand shot out before I could consciously think about it and landed across his cheek, turning his head slightly.

"I had to give up my best friends." I said, feeling that tight hold I had on my emotions start to loosen. "I would give anything to be able to go home today knowing that it wasn't to pack. I would gladly keep my five minute walk. Keeping that meant I could call Alice or Edward anytime I wanted to, and guess what, I can't do that because they're gone." I felt the first tear slide down my cheek, but I kept going.

"All they wanted when those babies were born was to watch them grow up and be happy. They don't get to see that now though because they're gone and they aren't coming back.

"They don't get to see their first steps or hear them say mommy and daddy. They don't get to cry as they send them off to their first day of school or look on with pride when they graduate.

"They don't get to ground them when they stay out too late or hug them when they have their heart broken for the first time. They don't get to see them get married or watch them have babies of their own.

"But we do...because they chose us...to take their place. They loved...and trusted...us enough to... to take care of what...was most precious to them. It was...the last thing...they'll ever ask us to do...for them. Why is...that so hard...for you to decide? Why...can't...you...just...say...yes? Why...can't...why...can't...?"

I stopped talking to try and catch my breath, but it didn't seem to be working. My head felt like it was going to explode. I shook it trying to clear the dizziness I felt, but only succeeded in creating black spots in my vision. Another wave of dizziness swept over me and then I knew nothing else.

**-****TG****-**

_**Jasper**_

_My __fault__, _I thought as Seth and I watched Bella finally lose that hold she had on her grief. The words I'd said were cruel and uncalled for; the slap was completely justified. I was still so angry at losing my friends though and then being told that I had to uproot my whole life had just added to it.

But as I listened to what she said I knew what my decision had to be. I couldn't not do it. I couldn't just hand the twins over, even if it was to Emmett and Rosalie. Bella and I would make it work somehow. My life was in Seattle now and my family and Maria would just have to understand.

I didn't try to stop Bella as she continued to cry and gasp through was she was saying. She needed to get it out or it was going to eat her alive. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that she'd started hyperventilating until she had already fainted.

"BELLA," Seth cried as she slumped forward and I shot out of my chair, catching her before she hit her head on his desk.

"Seth, get Carlisle," I said easing her down to the floor. He moved around his desk quickly and went to the door while I turned my attention back to Bella. "Bella, honey wake up. Come on, open your eyes for me."

"What happened?"

I looked up as Carlisle squatted down beside me. "She was crying and then her breathing went haywire."

He checked her pulse and then lifted up each eyelid before he asked, "When was the last time she ate or even slept?"

"I don't know. Every time I ask her to eat she tells me she's not hungry."

He nodded solemnly.

"Is she going to be okay?" I asked not liking the look on his face.

"She'll be fine. I think the last few days have just finally caught up with her. If I'm right in guessing she hasn't been sleeping, so she's not going to wake up for a while. When she does you need to make her eat."

"Carlisle, this is Bella you're talking about."

He gave a small smile. "I know, which means I also know that if you tell her if she doesn't eat I'll be forced to put her into the hospital then she will. Just make sure she eats something. When do you go back to Texas?"

"Tomorrow."

"Then I'll make sure some keeps an eye on her."

"Okay."

"When will you be back?"

I looked at him, trying to gauge whether or not they were hurt with us getting the twins. He must have sensed what I was doing because he said, "We understand and we're fine with their decision. We know the two of you will take care of them."

"All right. Then I'll be back in about a week or so. I just need to let the school know and pack."

He nodded and looked back toward Bella, "You should get her home."

I slipped my arms under her knees and shoulders, lifting her up as I stood. Glancing over at Seth I said, "Start whatever paperwork you need to."

"Will do. I'll have everything for you to sign when you get back."

I nodded and made sure I had everything before I carried Bella out of the office.

Esme and Rose rushed over, but Carlisle stopped them by holding up his hand. "She's fine. She just needs to rest."

They both back up a little as Esme asked, "Did you two decide?"

"I'll be back in a week or so." I replied, earning a small smile from her and Rose. It wasn't what I was expecting at all, even after what Carlisle had said. I knew how big-hearted they were though and they wouldn't take Edward and Alice's last wish away.

"I'll call later to check on her." Carlisle said.

"Okay." I said moving toward the main door.

Every one followed behind us and Carlisle helped me get Bella situated in the passenger seat of her car before he went on to his.

I drove back to Bella's house and got her inside, putting her to bed. While she slept I ordered Chinese, making sure to get soup in case she didn't want anything too heavy.

She ended up sleeping until 11 and came stumbling out of her room while I was watching TV.

"What happened?" She asked stopping by the couch.

"You hyperventilated at Seth's office and then fainted. You've been asleep ever since. Carlisle said you need to eat too."

"I'm not-"

"Doesn't matter." I said cutting her off. "You eat or he puts you in the hospital. And you need to be healthy for when we take over keeping the twins."

Her eyes welled up with tears and spilled over before she whispered, "You said yes."

"I did. You were right, it's what they wanted."

"Thank you."

I nodded and turned back to the TV, but glanced over when she didn't move. "Go eat."

"Kay." She said, turning toward the kitchen and coming out with a plateful a few minutes later to sit beside me on the couch.

While she ate it and another plate, I knew she was hungry, I thought about what we did now.

It wasn't going to be easy, but we'd figure it out.

**-TG-**

**Sad chapters are over, now we get into the fun stuff. Let me know what you guys think. **

**Next chapter will be them moving into the house and we meet Peter, Charlotte, and Maria. (Jasper's brother, wife, and bitch of a girlfriend)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: ****Yeah I don't own it. I just like to turn all of them human and have my fun with them. **

**Thanks to Kim Rathbone you are such a big help.  
><strong>

**The wonderful christag_banner made me a beautiful banner. Link is on my profile.**

**NEXT UPDATE WILL NOT BE UNTIL THE 26TH. Going on vacation next week. :)  
><strong>

**Hope you enjoy.**

**-TG-**

_**Bella**_

It had been two weeks since Jasper and I had learned our lives were changing and they had been busy. Today was moving day though.

Jasper had left the day after the reading and I'd only spoken to him once. That was four days ago when he called to let me know he was on his way. He was driving and that his brother, sister-in-law, and girlfriend were coming with him.

I was looking forward to meeting Peter and Charlotte. I'd heard nothing but good things about them from Alice and Edward. Maria could stay her ass away, however. I just knew she was going to cause problems and I wasn't looking forward to her being here at all.

I'd taken the two weeks off work so I could do what I needed to. I packed and cleaned my apartment as well as taking the time each day to go visit the twins. I learned their schedules, what they liked, what they didn't like, how to bath them, and anything else I would need. It was going to be hard, but between Jasper and I, I was sure we could handle it.

Yesterday had been a hard day though. Emmett, Rose, Carlisle, dad, and I had gone to the house to get it ready for me and Jasper.

We'd packed up Alice and Edward's clothes and bedroom as well as their offices. I, honestly, didn't want to sleep in their room, but there was no other way around it. They had the room closest to the nursery and I had to be there. I put my own bed in there though because sleeping in theirs was beyond my comfort zone.

Jasper would be down the hall in the other master bedroom which wasn't even furnished. Hopefully, he was bringing what he needed.

Everything else we left exactly where it was; their pictures still adorned the hall as well as Edward's music collection in the living room. I couldn't touch those things and ended up breaking down after looking at their wedding photo hanging in the hall downstairs. We were all so happy and had no clue that in less than 2 years things would be like they were now.

"This is the last one, Bells." I pulled myself out of my thoughts and brushed away my tears as Dad walked in the room.

I glanced up from where I was sitting in the middle of the floor. "Thanks, Dad."

He set the box in his hands down with the rest of them as he asked, "When is Jasper supposed to be here?"

"Another hour or so."

"And the twins aren't coming home until tomorrow night right?"

"Yeah, Esme figured Jasper and I needed at least one night to get settled. She's going to bring them by for a little bit later though."

He nodded, but before he could say anything else Rose stepped in the room. "Hey, Bella what did you want to do about dinner?"

"I guess we can just order pizza. There's going to be so many of us."

"That's what I was thinking too." She said. "Oh and all your clothes are unpacked and hung up. Emmett is working on your DVDs right now."

"Thank you."

"Of course, is there anything else I can do?"

"Not really. Everything in here I have a system for."

"Okay, well I'll go figure up a list of pizzas for dinner, maybe run out and get some salad and drinks to go with it. Do you need anything?"

I shook my head as I gave her a smile, receiving one in return before she left the room.

Rose, Esme, and I had had a talk the weekend after the will was read. I'd been worried they would hate me for being who Alice and Edward asked to take in the twins. They didn't though and had told me they understood. That they'd also been given letters and one day they would let me read them.

We'd cried a lot during the talk, but had ended up laughing as we told stories of some of the things Alice and Edward had done. It was a nice day and I think was the first step to healing.

Dad wandered out of the room right after Rose and I continued to work on separating my files. I even decided to clean them out. By the time the doorbell rang an hour later I had nice little piles everywhere and had to carefully maneuver over them as I made my way toward the front of the house.

Emmett had already opened the door when I got there; Jasper and his family were standing on the front steps. Emmett motioned them inside and Jasper quickly introduced them to all of us.

Peter looked just like Jasper only taller. He also seemed to have a smile permanently plastered on his face.

Charlotte was gorgeous. She was about my height with long blond hair pulled back into a ponytail.

I couldn't help the eye roll when Jasper introduced dad to Maria.

"So, you don't like her either." I turned my head and found Charlotte standing right beside me, a small grin on her face.

"Is it that obvious?" I asked trying to school my features.

"Just a little, but don't worry Peter and I hate her too. We were hoping his move would be the end of the relationship. Unfortunately, we were wrong." She whispered.

"What are you two talking so quietly about over here?" Peter asked joining us.

"The bitch." Charlotte said.

"Ahhh."

Peter didn't say anything else, since Jasper turned at that moment and said, "I guess we need to unload the truck."

All the men immediately headed toward the front door while the girls and I stood there looking at each other or more accurately Rose, Charlotte, and I stood there looking at Maria.

She already had her nose turned up and I really wanted to just throw her out. God, what Jasper saw in her I'll never know.

Sure she was beautiful with her tan complexion, dark hair, and light blue eyes, but that is as far as it went.

After a few minutes Rose turned to me and said, "I'm going to the store. I have the list for what pizza to order on the table if you want to go ahead and order them in about thirty minutes."

I went to answer, but Maria cut in before I could. "Pizza? Really?"

Rose didn't even give her the slightest glance as she said, "Yes and if you have a problem with it I'm sure you can go find something else."

I noticed Charlotte stiffen with a laugh as I did. Maria huffed, but perched her ass on the sofa and didn't respond.

Rose grinned and then with a wave left the room.

I ignored Maria completely and turned to Charlotte. "Do you want to see the house?"

She nodded and then followed behind me as I left the room. I showed her the downstairs first. We passed through the kitchen, the two offices, and the bathroom. We then moved upstairs where I showed her Jasper's bedroom, my bedroom, and then finally the nursery.

Alice and Edward had not wanted separation in the room, so they'd gone with a mutual theme. The cribs, changing table, rocking chair, and dressers were all in dark wood, matching the hard wood floor. Small rugs were placed around each one in the shape of a farm animal.

All four walls and the ceiling were painted with a mural. It had fields of corn, a barn, a dirt road that looked like it disappeared over a hill while the sun rose into the blue sky. Farm animals dotted the landscape throughout; horse, pigs, chickens, and sheep just to name a few.

The mobiles that hung over the cribs were animals and the bedding matched.

I loved the room so much.

"Oh this is so cute." Charlotte said looking around.

"Yeah. It's actually my favorite room in the whole house."

After she looked around a minute longer we went back downstairs, sidestepping Emmett and Peter as they carried a bookshelf by.

I went into the kitchen and grabbed the list Rose had made before finding my cell phone. I quickly called the order in, not surprised with the hour and a half wait time. After all, we had ordered like 10 pizzas.

Rose returned from the store not long after and then five minutes later Esme walked in the door carrying Kinsley on her hip; Carlisle following behind with Aiden.

I quickly washed my hands and took Aiden from Carlisle, so he could go help the guys. "Hey little man."

He gave me a toothless smile and I turned. "Charlotte this is Aiden."

"And this is Kinsley and I'm Esme."

"Nice to meet you Esme." Charlotte said smiling before holding her hands out. "May I hold Kinsley?"

Esme handed her over and Charlotte received her own toothless smile. She talked and made these little noises that got Kinsley giggling. Her giggles made Aiden start and before long the rest of us were laughing with them.

"She likes you." Esme said softly as she looked on.

"We are done." Emmett said as he stepped into the kitchen, the rest of the men behind him.

Peter and Jasper came over and we introduced the twins to Peter. He made a face causing them to once again giggle. Charlotte handed him Kinsley and he went into full fledged baby talk mode. It was pretty comical and had all of us laughing.

As we started to calm down the doorbell rang. Carlisle and Emmett slipped out of the room to grab the pizza before I could stop them. Esme gave me a look that said did you really think you would be paying for dinner.

I just shook my head and handed Aiden to Jasper as he held his hands out. I took Kinsley from Peter and as I did I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. Turning my head I found Maria standing in the doorway a look of loathing on her face as she watched Jasper and I. I noticed we were standing pretty close and he was smiling down at Kinsley while Aiden lay up on his shoulder.

My attention was diverted as Carlisle and Emmett walked passed her, carrying the pizza. They set it down on the table as Esme grabbed plates. Rose pulled out glasses and Charlotte even moved to help, getting out silverware and napkins.

Emmett and Carlisle then pulled over the twins high chairs and Jasper and I strapped them in.

As soon as he'd stepped back Maria was by his side, whispering in his ear. I moved away to get the twins dinner and found Esme already putting their food in different bowls.

"Every one help themselves." She said waving the others to eat. Not surprising Emmett dived for the table first. The rest followed quickly except for Maria.

"Are you not going to eat?" Esme asked noticing her.

"No, Maria doesn't really like pizza." Jasper answered for her.

"Oh well there's salad stuff too." Esme said but Maria still made no move.

I rolled my eyes as I sat down in front of Kinsley and couldn't help the words that came out of my mouth. "We also have baby food."

Peter snorted and tried to cover it with a cough, but it didn't really work. I cut my eyes over to him and found him grinning at me. He gave me a quick wink before returning to his food.

I chanced a peek at Jasper who didn't look very happy. However, his look was nothing compared to Maria. If looks could kill.

She'd get over it.

I turned my attention back to Kinsley so she could eat.

The rest of dinner passed quickly and we cleaned up. Once we were done Carlisle and Esme decided to head home so they could get the twins ready for bed.

Before they left Esme said she'd bring them home around lunchtime the next day. I took a deep breath and nodded letting her know that was fine. It was weird to think about, but I was prepared. I think.

Rose and Emmett left right after them, needing to go pick up Andrew from the sitters. After I walked them out I returned to the living room where the others were.

"So I think we're going to head to the hotel." Peter said.

"Oh..." I said surprised. "When are you going home?"

"Tomorrow. We have to get back to work, but we'll be back to visit soon." Charlotte answered.

"I hope you do. I would really like to get to know you two better."

"Let me give you our numbers and you can call anytime. I'm always up for a chat." Charlotte said following me into the kitchen so I could grab my phone. When we were out of ear shot of the others she continued, "With most people."

"Is she riding back with you guys?"

"Unfortunately."

"I'm sorry."

"Me too."

We laughed quietly and then headed back into the living room.

"I'm going to stay with Maria at the hotel tonight." Jasper said as soon as I walked into the room.

"All right." I said. It's not like I really cared. If it meant she wasn't here then I was perfectly fine.

Peter and Charlotte came over and gave me a hug, telling me they'd see and talk to me soon. I wished them a safe trip home.

I didn't have anything to say to Maria and watched with silent glee as Jasper led her out of the house. I did feel the need to remind him of one thing though.

"Remember Esme is bring the twins home around noon."

"I will." He called before getting into his truck.

I waited until they were gone before going back into the house. Shutting the door behind me I looked around and sighed. After a minute of standing there I went back to the office, intent on getting the rest of my things unpacked.

**-****TG****-**

_**Jasper**_

God, I was tired. The last two weeks had been one long day after another.

When I'd first told Peter and Charlotte about the move they were happy about it. They'd both met Alice and Edward and had liked them immediately. They knew taking the twins had been what I needed to do.

Maria had not been as happy. She'd eventually come around even if she didn't like the situation. I know it had to do with the fact that I had to live with Bella. I wasn't stupid not to know they didn't like each other, but they were both going to have to deal with it.

After dealing with that then I had to put in my notice, which I hated. I loved my job and my students, but I had to do it.

Add the packing and the driving and I was ready to just crash. Unfortunately, I had a feeling that wasn't going to be possible. And I found out I was right as soon as Maria stepped into her room.

"I don't like this." She said turning to face me before I could even get the door closed.

"I know," I sighed. We'd had this argument before. "But I have to do it."

"Why do you have to live in the house with her though?"

"Because that's what our friends wanted."

"Why?"

"I'm assuming for the stability."

She rolled her eyes and dropped down on the end of the bed. "I'm staying then."

"What?" I asked shocked.

"I'm going to stay here in Seattle for a while."

"Really?"

"Yes, do you not want me to?"

"Of course I do, but are you sure you can do it?"

"Why not? It's not like I have to work or anything." She replied before reaching over to the nightstand for the room service menu.

She flipped through the menu and I knew her mind was made up. However, there was something I don't thing she'd thought about.

"Where do you plan on staying? I don't know if the hotel can-"

"What do you mean where do I plan on staying? You have a house do you not?"

"Yes, but I don't think that will be the best idea."

"Why?"

"Because I'm not the only one that will be living there. Bella has a say so-"

Again I was interrupted. "Well ask _Bella_." She spit her name like it left a bad taste in her mouth, causing me to just shake my head.

I pulled my phone from my pocket and called Bella. She answered on the third ring.

"_Hello__."_

"Bella, hey it's Jasper."

"_I __know__. __What__'__s__ up__?"_

"Well, Maria decided she wanted to stay a little bit longer."

"_Wonderful__." _She said, but I could hear the sarcasm loud and clear.

"Yeah, I was wondering if maybe she could-"

"_No__." _

"You didn't even let me-"

"_You__'__re__ going__ to __ask __if __she __can __stay __here __and __the __answer __is __no__." _

"Why not?"

"_Because__ of __the __twins__."_

"That can't be the only reason."

"_Well__, __do __you __want __to __hear __that __I __don__'__t __really __like __her __either__."_

"You don't even know her."

"_True__, __but__ I__'__m __still __saying __no__."_

"Fine."

"_Fine__."_

I hung up then and turned back to Maria.

"She said no."

"Figures. Stupid bitch."

"That's uncalled for." I said. Bella wasn't that bad. Hell, she wasn't even close to being that bad.

"Whatever." She said and I knew it was the end of the conversation for the night. Granted, it wouldn't be the end forever. We'd revisit it later when something else about the situation didn't make her happy.

I sighed and dropped down onto the bed as she flipped on the TV.

"Can you turn that down a little bit please?"

"Can you move back to Texas?"

I groaned and pulled a pillow over my head. Wondering what the fuck I'd done for my life to be so damn complicated.

**-TG-**

**Yes, Maria is a bitch isn't she? Tell me what you think. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: ****Yeah I don't own it. I just like to turn all of them human and have my fun with them. **

**Thanks to Kim Rathbone you are such a big help.  
><strong>

**The wonderful christag_banner made me a beautiful banner. Link is on my profile.**

**Hope you guys enjoy the chapter...**

**-TG-**

_**Bella**_

There never seems to be enough hours in a day now and I was pretty sure that if I had any more those would be filled too.

Would I change things? No, but only because I knew I couldn't bring Alice and Edward back.

The twins were amazing though. I missed them during the day when I was working and rushed to pick them up from Esme's when I was finished. I enjoyed the time I had with them at night, feeding them, bathing them, and putting them to bed.

They were a handful, especially with the fact that I was pretty much doing everything myself and they'd started crawling a week ago. I had to give mad props to those single mothers that did it on a daily basis.

Granted, if you looked at the situation you could say I was a single mom. Jasper was completely useless and only succeeded in pissing me off when he was home. Which was probably only an hour or two a week.

The rest of the time he was either at work or with that bitch he called a girlfriend.

I could have been over exaggerating things, but I didn't think I was. It had been four weeks since Esme had brought them home and my schedule had pretty much solidified itself.

My day started at five in the morning. I took a shower, dressed, and did my hair and makeup all before six. I then got the twins up, changed them, fed them, and dressed them all by seven. I had them in the car and to Esme's house by 7:30. Was at work by 8 and spent the next ten hours taking picture after picture of kids, engaged couples, and sometimes pets. Sometimes I ate, sometimes I didn't. When I left work I was back at Esme's picked the twins up at 6:30. Then it was home, dinner, bath, playtime, and bedtime by nine. For an hour I picked up around the house and did what I could until exhaustion sent me to bed at 10 or 10:30. Most of the time I was up again at one or two to change one or both of the babies. And then I repeated the next day and the next.

Of course, for the last week I hadn't slept that much since both of the twins decided it was time to start teething. They were cranky, cried often, and rarely slept more than an hour at a time.

Jasper had started working about a week after he moved here. Being a music teacher he'd gone to the high school Edward had worked at and they'd hired him to take over Edward's position. Knowing Edward I had inside knowledge of what Jasper's schedule was like during the day.

I knew he had to be at work by 7:45 and finished around 4. After that I had no clue what he did and I really didn't want to get one since he was with _her_. All I did know was that he wasn't home, called when he felt like it, and stopped by when he felt like it.

When he did come by, I'll admit, he was great with the twins. He played with them and made them laugh, but if he ever stayed over an hour she would always call and then he would rush off. It pissed me right the hell off because I, honestly, couldn't understand it.

Why he didn't want to be with them was beyond me. I knew eventually we would have it out. That he would catch me at the wrong time and I would lose it. Hopefully, he'd pull his head out of her ass before that happened, but I wasn't holding my breath because I was only holding on by a thread.

Especially, with the night I'd had. If I'd gotten an hour total of sleep I was lucky.

Kinsley was extremely fussy, her first tooth was about to break through and she had been running a low grade fever all through the night. Of course, her crying had woken Aiden every time and I'd spent the night in the uncomfortable rocking chair, in the corner of the nursery, trying to soothe them.

I'd finally managed to lay them down around 4 and go to bed, but my alarm like always had gone off an hour later.

At the moment, I was trying to keep myself from falling back to sleep while standing up. The warm water of the shower was doing nothing to help, but there was no way I was taking a cold one. After I dried off and dressed for the day, I pulled my hair back into a ponytail and just used a little cover up to hide the dark circles. Anything else would have been too complicated.

I made my way downstairs and was thankful that I'd managed to remember to set the timer on the coffee pot last night. I poured a large travel mug full and drank about half of it down, getting pissed off at myself when I burnt the fuck out of my tongue. Heaving a deep breath, I filled my mug back up and went upstairs to wake the twins.

Aiden was easy. He was all smiles as I changed his diaper and put on his cute little overalls and shoes. Kinsley, however, seemed to be on the same wavelength as me. Although I didn't cry through getting myself dressed.

Once they were both ready to go, I took Aiden down and strapped him in his high chair. Kinsley was still whimpering when I went back to get her and didn't quiet down until she had a dose of children's Tylenol in her as well as some food.

When they were finished eating I cleaned them up and then grabbed everything I needed for the day. I didn't have to worry about medicine or anything for the twins, since Esme kept everything fully stocked at her house.

After loading us all into the car I drove over to Esme's and found her standing on the porch like always.

She smiled as she pulled open the back door on Kinsley's side.

"Hey baby girl," She said unstrapping her from the car seat. As I got Aiden out of his seat Esme continued with her greeting. "Good morning little man. Good morning, Bella."

"Morning...Esme." I said through a yawn.

"Rough morning?" She asked concern clear in her voice.

"Rough night. Kinsley was up for most of it which meant Aiden was too."

"Her teeth?"

"Yeah. I think it's about to break through though. So there should be some relief for her soon. I did give her some Tylenol already this morning. Right before breakfast."

"All right sweetie." She said as I glanced up and saw Carlisle coming out of the house.

He said a quick good morning as he took Aiden from me.

"Is Jasper helping?" Esme asked.

She asked that question every morning and every morning I answered the same way.

"Of course."

Yes it was a lie, a big fat one, but I was worried that if I told her the truth I would have to give the twins up. I would make excuses for him, I would lie for him, and do or say whatever I had to make sure that didn't happen. I loved those little ones too much to just let them go.

Esme gave me a smile like she knew I was lying and I'm sure she did, since she was a mom and just knew that shit. However, she never once called me out on it and for that I was grateful.

I returned her smile and quickly kissed each of the babies. Waving goodbye I climbed back in my car and made the drive to work.

I swear the universe was out to get me once I opened the studio. Every kid seemed to be cranky or every mother couldn't make a decision.

By the time lunch rolled around I had a wicked headache and I knew it was because I hadn't eaten or slept well. Thankfully, at lunch time I could remedy one of those things.

I locked up the studio and headed down the street to a small cafe. As I waited for my salad to come out I pulled my phone from my pocket, seeing if I could take care of the other problem too.

Finding Jasper's number I typed in a quick text, since I wasn't sure when he took lunch...

**If**** you ****aren****'****t ****busy ****could**** you ****give**** me**** a ****call****.**

I hit send and set my phone down, figuring it would take him a while to get back to me. I was surprised when it rang a few minutes later.

Seeing it was indeed Jasper I answered...

"Hey," I said.

"_Hey__ Bella__. __Is__ everything__ okay__ with __the __twins__?"_

"Health wise yes, but Kinsley didn't sleep well last night. She's teething. Which is why I called."

"_Okay__. __What __do __you__ need__?"_

"I need you to come home tonight, so I can get some sleep."

"_Oh__...__well__..."_

I could hear the reluctance in his voice and it pissed me off. "Seriously Jasper she can deal one night by herself. You agreed to this and have done nothing. I need you to step up tonight and be there. Or so help me-"

"_Okay__...__okay__." _He said cutting me off. _"__I__ have __a __faculty __meeting __until__ 5 __and__ then __I__'__ll __pick __them__ up __from __Esme__."_

"Thank you. I'll be home a little after 6 then."

"_Alright__. __I__'__ll __see __you __later__."_

"Bye."

I hung up and put the phone down beside me only to pick it right back up. I needed to call Esme so she wouldn't worry when Jasper showed up.

Once I'd hung up with her I finally ate my salad and then headed back to work; the rest of the day thankfully passing quickly.

When I got to the house Jasper's truck was in the driveway and I found myself holding my breath. If he'd brought her with him I was going to be pissed. Walking inside I let out the air in my lungs. She wasn't there. Jasper was sitting in the middle of the floor a baby on either side of him and they were laughing as he knocked over a tower of blocks.

Again I couldn't help but wonder why he didn't always want to be a part of this.

After a few minutes he finally glanced up and saw me.

"Hey," He said.

"Hey."

He looked back to the twins and then to me before he said, "I didn't feed them. I didn't really know what they ate so..."

I sighed and nodded. "I'll get it together if you'll bring them into the kitchen."

Without waiting for a response I went down the hall. If he was here more he'd know.

As I got their food together he brought them in, placing them in their high chairs. Once everything was in bowls I put them on the table and sat down.

"When they're finished I'll go ahead and give them a bath. That way all you'll have to do is put them to bed."

"Okay." He said before disappearing back into the living room. As he went I noticed he pulled out his cell phone.

Shaking my head I turned back to the the twins and whispered, "What are we going to do with him guys?"

They gave me a slurred and blabbered answer, causing me to smile. God, I loved them.

I finished feeding them and then took them into the downstairs bathroom, shutting the door so they couldn't crawl away as I ran their bath water.

I let them splash around for a little bit before washing them off and calling for Jasper.

He came into the room and I handed Kinsley to him. "Take her up to the nursery and I'll get her pajamas on."

He nodded and went out of the room as I picked up Aiden. I carried him up to the nursery and found Jasper sitting in the rocking chair with Kinsley.

I quickly got them dressed and then handed them over to Jasper.

"Bedtime is at 9. All you have to do is change them, lay them down, give them their pacifiers, turn on their mobiles, and turn off the light."

"Alright." He looked wary, but didn't say anything else.

I gave each of the twins a kiss before I went to left the room and closed myself in my bedroom. Being that close to my bed, the exhaustion reared its head and I barely got changed. Falling on top of the covers I was out within minutes.

I don't know how long I slept before a knock on my door had me shooting to my feet. I quickly stumbled to the door and pulled it open, finding Jasper on the other side.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing. I was just going to tell you the twins were asleep and I was heading back to the hotel."

I looked at him like he'd grown two heads. "Seriously?" I hissed.

"Yeah, what's the problem?"

"Well, I thought you were staying here tonight. So I could actually sleep."

"You have been sleeping."

I took that time to check the clock and then turned back to glare at him. "For three hours. I was kind of hoping for at least eight."

"Sorry, but I already told Maria I was on my way." I rolled my eyes because it wasn't like he couldn't call her skanky ass back. "What? Why do you dislike her so much?"

"What do you see in her? I mean really?"

"Why does it even matter to you, Bella? Are you jealous?"

"Okay, one it matters because she keeps you from being here. And for the other what do I have to be jealous of?"

"Maybe that I'm sleeping with her and not you."

"Seriously?" I asked.

"Well, I've been there and done that with you. So, maybe you thought my moving here and living in the house would make us this happy little family."

I sucked in a deep breath and then through gritted teeth I said, "Get the fuck out, Jasper."

"What?"

"You heard me."

"You're kicking me out of my house."

"If you were here more often, instead of having your head stuck up her ass, then you could call it that. Until that happens, it's my house and I don't want you here."

"Fine." He said.

"Fine." I repeated.

He gave me a look and then stormed off down the stairs. I stood in the doorway to my room until he slammed out of the house.

I then moved down the hall with sigh, hoping that I could get the twins to stop crying quickly and go back to sleep.

**-****TG****-**

_**Maria**_

I smirked as I flipped my phone closed.

A little bit of guilt and fake tears and I knew he'd come running back to me. If he wasn't so hot I wouldn't be able to deal with how pathetic he was.

Plus, sticking it to that little bitch was just entertaining. I hadn't liked her on sight. Especially with the way Jasper was around her. He was all laughter and smiles and looking at her. That wouldn't do. He was with me after all.

I mean really there wasn't any competition. I was a size 2 compared to her 6. My boobs were the best money could buy. She had I was guessing a small B cup; not even a handful. My hair was always perfect while hers was usually a frizzy mess or in a ponytail. My wardrobe was top dollar and one of a kind. Hers would look more at home on a bag lady.

Definitely not competition, but I still needed to keep them away from each other.

I had one goal and that was to get him back to Texas. I didn't need him to start thinking they would make a nice little family with those brats and that Seattle was where he wanted to be.

No, he had to come back to Texas. Daddy had finally gotten off my back about settling down and Jasper made the perfect trophy husband and arm candy.

I just hoped it wouldn't take much longer before he came around to my way of thinking. I was getting tired of the fucking rain.

**-TG-**

**So who wants to beat her ass? Who wants to slap Jasper? Please form two lines and not pushing. :)**

**Send a review and let me know what you think. Teaser for next chapter for those that do. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: ****Yeah I don't own it. I just like to turn all of them human and have my fun with them. **

**Thanks to Kim Rathbone you are such a big help.  
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**Hope you guys enjoy the chapter...**

**-TG-**

_**Bella**_

It had been two weeks since I'd asked Jasper to leave, and I'd seen him twice since then. When he came over he stayed for an hour and then left, never speaking a word to me. Granted, I didn't speak to him either.

I was still completely pissed at what he'd said and until he apologized I wasn't going to talk to him.

Not sleeping didn't help to ease the anger I felt for him either.

Kinsley had finally settled down with her teeth a day after that night, but then Aiden had woken up with a cold the next morning. He'd been the cranky one then, since he couldn't breathe well. I'd put him in my room so he didn't wake Kinsley up when he cried. I sat with him by a humidifier trying to clear his congestion up for a couple nights and thankfully, it worked, but then I'd gotten the cold and it wasn't going away.

I'd tried cough, cold, and sinus medicine, but none had helped. My next option was to ask Carlisle. I was afraid he'd give me something to make me sleep to the point that I wouldn't hear the twins if they woke up though. So I had put it off, but it was getting to where I couldn't anymore.

I felt horrible, I had no appetite and couldn't remember the last time I'd eaten a full meal, I was nauseous, I had a constant low grade fever, and I know I tossed and turned at night, trying to get comfortable.

Today, was the worse I'd felt though. I'd coughed throughout the morning as I got myself and the kids ready. I didn't have the luxury of taking them to Esme and coming back home because of work. I'd already had to postpone the ones coming in today when I was off the two weeks after the funeral. It had been the first chance I had to get them scheduled in and there was no way I was doing it again.

Before I left the house, I took some medicine just to see if it would knock out the headache I felt coming on.

When I pulled up into the driveway of Esme and Carlisle's house, I had a coughing fit that left my chest aching.

"Bella, you really need to have Carlisle check your cold out." Esme said as she opened the back door.

"I know. Will he be home tonight?"

"Yes. He'll be home in about an hour from the night shift and doesn't have to go back in until tomorrow morning."

"Okay." I said following her into the house with Aiden.

I sat him down on top of the blanket spread out in the living room and gave him a kiss before moving over to Kinsley and doing the same.

Esme shoved a bottle of orange juice in my hand before I could get out of the door and I drank it down before I even left the driveway. And then threw it back up when I got to work.

After brushing my teeth in the bathroom I opened the studio and got to work. Around 12:30 I had about an hour and a half before my next appointment, so I went into my office and lay down on the couch I had in there, dozing off and on for an hour until my cell rang.

Checking the caller ID I saw it was Charlotte. I'd talked to her quite a few times since she and Peter had returned to Texas. She'd quickly become someone I could confide in and I loved her dearly.

"Hey Char," I said after I answered.

"_Bella__, __sweetie __are__ you __okay__? __Your __voice __sounds__ horrible__."_

"Yeah, just got a cold that won't go away. I'm letting Carlisle check it out tonight."

"_Good__. __So__, __how __is__ everything__ else__?"_

"Ehhh. He came by about four days ago, but was gone before I knew it."

"_I__'__m__ going __to __kick__ his __ass__. __Actually__, __I__'__m__ going __to __kick__ that __bitch__'__s __ass__ and __then __his__."_

"Has he mentioned when she's supposed to be leaving?"

"_No__, __and __Peter __asked__ him __a__ few__ nights __ago__. __He __said __she __just __keeps __saying __soon__. __That __she__'__d __miss __him __too __much__. __If__ you__ ask __me __I__ think __it__'__s__ complete __bullshit__. __She__'__s __staying __to __keep __him __away __from __you__."_

"Why in the hell would that matter? It's not like I'm waiting to climb up on his junk or anything."

"_True__, __but __I__ think __she __feels __like__ if__ he__'__s__ around__ you__ a __lot __he__'__ll __start __wanting __to__ do__ that__ to__ you__."_

"In his words, been there and done...fuck." I literally face-palmed. Shit. And there was no hope that she hadn't heard, since she was laughing already.

"_Why __Miss__ Bella __is __there __something__ you __need __to __tell __me__?"_

"No." I said. It couldn't hurt to try after all.

"_Yeah__, __when __and__ where __babe__?"_

I sighed and answered, knowing that even if I hung up she'd call until I told her. "Alice and Edward's wedding in one of the bathrooms. We were both drunk and it happened."

"_Nice__."_

"You can't tell anyone, Char."

"_I __won__'__t__, __but __I __do __have __one __question__."_

"What's that?"

"_How__ was __he__? __I __mean __he__'__s __Peter__'__s __brother __and__ that __man __does __a __damn__ good __job __of __keeping __me__ satisfied__. __So__, __it__ could __be __assumed __that __Jasper __is __the __same __way__."_

I started laughing and couldn't stop, but it only led into another coughing fit.

As I started to get my breathing back under control Charlotte said, _"__I__'__m__ so__ sorry__, __Bella__. __I __didn__'__t __mean __for __that __to__ happen__."_

"I know. I'm okay."

"_Are __you __sure__?"_

"Yeah," I said and then glanced at the clock and saw I had ten minutes before my appointment. "Hey, I need to go."

"_Oh__, __okay__. __I__'__ll __call__ tomorrow __to__ check__ on__ you__. __Don__'__t__ forget __to__ let __Carlisle__ take__ a __look__ tonight__."_

"I won't. And Char?"

"Yes?"

"He can satisfy very well."

"_I__ knew __it__."_ She exclaimed.

I chuckled and said, "All right I really do need to go. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"_Kay__. __Feel__ better __hon__."_

"Yes ma'am."

We hung up then and I went out to set up for my appointment.

At 6, I closed everything up and headed over to get the twins and see Carlisle.

When I got there though he wasn't there.

"I'm sorry honey." Esme said as I sat down on the couch. "He got called into work, but he said for sure he'd be here in the morning."

"It's okay, Esme. I feel a little better, so it will be fine."

"Do you want me to keep the twins tonight? So, you can at least rest. I mean I know Jasper's there, but you've had them every night since they came home."

I thought about it for just a minute before I agreed. It would help me so much and if I went home in the next few minutes then I could sleep at least 11 hours. Especially, since I didn't have to get the twins up and ready.

"That would be great. Thank you."

"It's not a problem, dear. You know that. Any time you want me to keep them I will. Rose and Emmett are the same way."

"I know." I said giving her a smile.

She returned it and I stood up. "I guess I'll head home then. If you need me though..."

"I'll call, but don't expect it. Just get some sleep. And if you don't want to drive over in the morning, I can have Carlisle stop by the studio on his way into work."

"That I will accept too."

"Good. He'll see you in the morning then and I'll see you when you get off."

"Okay."

I kissed the twins and then gave Esme a hug before waving and leaving the house.

On the drive home I felt the headache I'd kept gone earlier start to make itself known again and by the time I got home my head was pounding. I stumbled through the garage door into the kitchen and swiped some Tylenol and water before heading upstairs.

Just walking upstairs pushed me into another coughing fit. I leaned against the wall beside my bedroom for a second just to try and catch my breath.

**-****TG****-**

_**Jasper**_

As the last student left my class for the day I dropped down into my chair. I knew I needed to go see the twins tonight, but I also knew that when I told Maria it was going to piss her off.

It had started to piss me off with the way she was constantly bad mouthing Bella. She didn't deserve it at all. Granted, I'd done the same two weeks ago, so I wasn't much better.

Sighing I leaned back in my chair. I really needed to apologize. I was an ass for not doing it sooner, but I would the next time I saw her.

I also needed to start going to the house more often. I knew it, but I had no clue how long Maria was staying. If she would just give me a day it would be easier, but she always just said soon. I think tonight though I was going to ask for something specific.

If her and Bella could just get along it would be easier too, but I knew that wasn't ever going to happen. Why they disliked each other so much was beyond me. They hadn't even talked really and yet I knew they hated the other. Peter and Charlotte were the same way with Maria as well. They'd, however, taken to Bella and I knew she and Charlotte talked often.

Maria wasn't that bad. Sure she was a little spoiled, but that's just from growing up and getting anything she wanted from her dad. Other than that, I'd seen her be sweet and loving though. Maybe not lately, but the situation can't be easy on her either. The only time she was really a pain was when she had to share me with Bella. That wouldn't be easy on anyone even if there was nothing going on romantically.

I really needed to figure out how to keep both Maria and Bella happy though. Bella and I were, as Seth said, a package deal along with the twins until they were 18. And while it wasn't love with Maria yet, I did care about her a lot and I didn't want to end things.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts and started straightening my desk up, so I could leave. When I was about halfway done my phone buzzed.

I pulled my drawer open and fished it out from inside, seeing that it was Charlotte calling.

"Hey," I said answering.

"_Hey__. __You__ need __to __go__ to __the__ house __tonight __and__ stay __there__."_

"Why?"

"_Because __Bella __is __sick__ you__ idiot __and __she __needs __help__. __Did __you __not __notice __it __the __other __night__?"_

"She had a cough, but she didn't say anything."

"_She __shouldn__'__t __have __to__. __You __should __be__ there __to __help__, __Jasper__. __You__'__re __supposed__ to __be __there__. __You __agreed __to __it__. __If__ you __didn__'__t __want __to __you__ should __have __said __no__."_

"I know, but Maria-"

"_Don__'__t__." _She said cutting me off. _"__Maria__ needs __to __understand __that__ you__ have __a __family __now__. __It__'__s__ not__ a __perfect __situation__ or__ one__ that__ either__ one__ of__ you__ went __in to __the__ relationship__ thinking __was __going__ to __happen__, __but __it __did __and __it__'__s __not __going __to__ change__. __You __have __responsibilities __now __that __are __far __more __important__ than __keeping __your __girlfriend__ happy __for __a __night__. __If __she __cares __about __you__ at __all __then __she __wil__l get __over __it __and __be __there __for __you__. __If __she __isn__'__t__, __then__ you__'__ll __know__. __So__, __I__'__m __telling __you __start __taking __care __of __your __responsibility __tonight __or __so __help __me__, __Jasper __Whitlock__, __I __will __fly __up __there__ and__ kick __both of of your __asses__. __Your__ mama__, __God __rest __her __soul__, __raised __you __to __do__ the __right __thing__. __So__ do __it__."_

"Yes ma'am."

"_Thank __you__. __Now __I__'__m __going __to __go__, __since __you __need __to __be __somewhere__."_

"Alright. I'll talk to you later. Love you."

_"Love you too."_

I hung up when she did and then quickly finished up what I needed to.

Leaving the school I tried to call Maria, but she didn't answer. I knew Bella wouldn't be home with the twins until after 6 so I headed to the hotel first.

When I got there, Maria was lying on the bed watching some talk show.

"Hey baby," She said when I walked in the door.

"Hey. I tried to call you a few minutes ago, but you didn't answer."

"Oh I was in the bathroom. I figured you were on your way so I didn't worry about calling you back. I'm sorry."

"It's alright."

"Good. So what do you want to do tonight?"

"Oh, umm...I'm actually going to stay at the house tonight."

Her face morphed from happy to angry in a second. "Why?"

"Because Bella is sick. I need to go be with the twins."

"I'm sure she's fine."

"I still need to make sure."

"So what am I supposed to do?"

"I don't know. Why don't you go down to the pool?"

She rolled her eyes at my suggestion. Instead of saying anything else I started gathering my things from the bathroom. As I dropped them into a duffel bag she glanced over.

"You're seriously going to leave me here alone?"

"You'll be fine." I said, looking around to see what else I would need. I had clothes at the house still so I didn't have to worry about that.

After seeing that I didn't need anything else I zipped up my bag. Leaning over the bed I went to give her a quick kiss, but she deepened it and pulled me close.

"I went shopping today. Let me show you what I bought. I think you'll like it." She whispered, moving to kiss along my jaw.

As good as it felt I knew I couldn't, so I pushed her away. "I can't."

She sat back with a huff. "Fine. Just go then."

"I'm sorry."

"Whatever." She said before going back to watching the TV.

I watched her for a minute before shaking my head and grabbing my bag. "I'll call you tomorrow."

She ignored me, so I just left.

As I drove over to the house I thought about what Charlotte had said and Maria's reaction to me leaving tonight. By the time I pulled into the garage I knew Maria and I were going to have to have a long talk. If she was going to continue to act like she was I wouldn't be able to stay with her. There was no other way around it.

Sighing I grabbed my bag and went in through the kitchen. I didn't hear any noise, but I knew Bella was home since her car was in the garage.

Checking the living room I found it empty and started upstairs to see where they were. When I got halfway up I saw Bella lying in front of her door. Her eyes were closed and I could hear that her breathing was labored.

Racing up the last few steps I dropped to my knees beside her. I checked all around, making sure there wasn't any blood or anything and I let out the breath I'd been holding when I found none. Sliding my hand under her neck I was taken aback by the amount of heat coming from her skin.

"Fuck, you're burning up." I said to myself. Moving a hand to her cheek I gently shook her. "Bella, honey, come on. Wake up for me please."

Her eyes fluttered a little and I asked, "Bella, what happened? Where are the twins?"

She coughed before giving me one word and then passing back out. _Esme. _They were okay then. I just needed to worry about Bella right now. Shifting her so I could get to my phone, I pulled it out and quickly called 911.

**-TG-**

***ducks and covers* Granted you all knew it was coming though. Let me know what you think.**

**Up next: The family finds out Jasper hasn't been there like they though and after jumping on him, he gets a taste of what Bella has dealt with on a daily basis. :)**


	7. AN

Ok so first I'M SO SORRY. I know you were all excited when you got the updates and now you probably want to kill me.

Just hold that thought until I get done and then you can kill me more.

I know what I'm about to say will make quite a few of you mad and I will probably lose some of you, and I hate that. I hate that I'm about to disappoint all of you because I appreciate my readers so much.

With that being said I have to do what I'm going to do. With five stories updating weekly I'm about to lose my mind. I'm losing the will to even want to write. I'm not saying I'm putting one or three on hiatus and focusing on just two at time like normal. I'm just going to have to push the weekly updates to every other week.

Which means there will be no updates this week. I'm sorry I did this now because I know every one was looking forward to what was coming in some of the updates, but everything would be late this week any way.

You can review this and yell at me, but I think it's for the best. Since I'm pretty sure if I keep going like I am I will end up just killing everyone in my stories off.

Again I'm sorry and feel free to yell. I'll will take it and not get mad. Promise.


	8. Chapter 7

_**Jasper**_

Two hours. What could possibly be taking this long?

I dropped my head back into my hands and let the night pass back through my head.

Finding Bella in the hall had scared the shit out of me. After giving 911 all the information I could I'd called Carlisle. He and Esme had met me at the hospital, leaving the twins with the neighbor. Esme had been beside herself with worry and Carlisle had handed her off to me while he went to check on Bella.

He hadn't come back out yet and Esme and I had been joined by Charlie, Rose, and Emmett soon after settling in the ER waiting room.

We hadn't spoken, except for Charlie to ask what had happened. Esme had told him Bella had been sick, but she didn't think it had been this bad. He'd been the only one to move, having paced awhile and bugging the receptionist for information. She'd told him multiple times that Carlisle would be out when he was finished with his exam.

I scrubbed my hands through my hair and checked my watch again, seeing it had only moved two minutes.

Another hour passed slowly before Carlisle reappeared. He walked straight over to us and stopped in front of the chair I was sitting in.

"Carlisle, is she going to be okay?" Charlie asked standing up quickly.

"She'll be fine," He said not taking his eyes off me. "But there are some questions I need answering."

"What's the matter with her?" Esme asked; her eyes cutting back and forth between Carlisle and I.

"Well, for starters she has a touch pneumonia which developed from an untreated upper respiratory infection. I have her on the necessary antibiotics to clear that up. However, what I'm finding difficult to understand is how on top of that she is exhausted to the point that I still can't get her awake, has such a severe case of dehydration it's bordering on being the thing I need to worry about the most, and she's lost at least 10 pounds since the last time I saw her. So, what I need from Jasper is for him to tell me how he missed it, and how he looks very healthy and rested compared to Bella. And son, I assure you, I already have a pretty good idea on why which means if you lie to me we're going to have some serious problems."

I knew I couldn't lie and I didn't want too because this was my fault.

"I haven't been there." I said.

"Excuse me?" Esme said in that voice only a mother can possess.

I turned my head to look at her and found her frowning at me. "I haven't been there."

"And where have you been?"

"With Maria at her hotel. I go to the house once or twice for only an hour or two. Esme...I-"

"Wait," She said holding up her hand to stop me from continuing. "I've asked Bella over and over again if you are helping. She's told me you are. Now you're saying that you've done nothing?"

My eyes widened at her words. If I hadn't have already felt bad, her words would have done it. Knowing that Bella had covered for my ass made me feel about two inches tall.

"I'm waiting Jasper. Have you done anything?"

"No." I said honestly.

Before Esme could say anything else I was jerked out of my chair and being led to the exit by Charlie and Emmett.

As we walked through the automatic doors I was pressed against the wall and could only stare at the two very angry men in front of me; one carrying a gun and one who could break me in half with one punch.

Charlie took a deep breath and appeared to count to ten before he said, "You know we can understand some adjustment is needed. You've given up your life in Texas to come here, but that doesn't excuse you from what you chose to take on. You decided that this was what you wanted and just because your girlfriend came along doesn't mean that you can shirk your responsibilities. My kid is lying in a hospital bed right now because you couldn't man up and do what you were supposed to do. What you said you were going to do."

"I'm sorry, Charlie. I swear I never meant for Bella to get sick."

""You can apologize and say you'll do better, but your word doesn't mean anything to me right now. You're going to have to pull your head out of your ass and do what you need to do before I will accept your apology. And if it's too far up there for you to find, I'll have no problem doing it for you. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir."

"Good, now you'll excuse me I'm going to go check on my daughter because that is what a father does."

I watched him walk back into the hospital before turning to Emmett, who looked like he had something to say as well.

"Let me have it. I deserve it and I know it." I said.

"That woman in there is like a little sister to me. I've already lost a brother and sister and I'll be damned I'll lose another because of an idiot who couldn't take care of his responsibilities. She's in there sick as hell and completely drained because of you. There should have been no reason it got this far. No reason. I watched you at the funeral. You were the one that made sure she ate and took care of herself. Where the fuck is that person now? What happened that you no longer fucking care? Because you should care even more now, especially with the fact that she still seems to care about you. If she didn't she wouldn't have covered for your ass all this time."

"I know, and I do care about her. I never meant for this to happen."

"You may not have meant to happen, but it did because you were too worried about yourself and getting pussy than you were about your children and Bella."

I started to refute what he'd just said, but it hit me that he was right. Bella and I may not have been their real parents, but we were their parents now. Bella had been acting like one where I had been doing exactly what Emmett had said. I'd been so worried about keeping Maria happy that I'd put everything else second.

"I see you've finally gotten the point by that look on your face, so going back in and check on Bells."

I nodded and he started to walk away only to stop and turn around. "Oh and Jasper if this happens again I won't hesitate to beat the fuck out of you."

I sighed and looked out over the parking lot, knowing that I really needed to call Peter and Charlotte. However, I also knew that they were going to lay into me as well.

Wanting to get it over with i pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed Peter's number. He answered on the first ring.

"Dude, please tell me you did what Charlotte told you to do, or I won't stop her from kicking your ass."

"I did it, but it was a little too late."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"When I got to the house I found Bella passed out in the hallway."

"Shit...is she alright? The babies?"

"The twins are okay. Bella is in the hospital, but she's going to be fine. She just needs to rest and get some fluids in her."

"What's wrong with her?"

"She has a pneumonia, is exhausted, and is dehydrated."

"Buts she's going to be...wait? Why is she so exhausted and why the hell is she dehydrated? Isn't Carlisle a doctor?"

"He is, but she's been busy taking care of the twins and I haven't been doing my part." My voice had gotten lower as I got to the end of the sentence, but I knew he'd heard me.

"What the fuck do you mean you haven't been doing your part?" He said before starting again immediately. "No wait, let me guess...you've been stuck up that bitch's ass haven't you?"

"Yes," I muttered.

"I knew it was a bad idea for her to stay there. I knew she would talk you into hanging out with her instead of taking care of your shit and look what happened. I was right."

"Peter..." I said and then trailed off because I really had nothing to say.

"Yeah, brother you can't say anything that won't dig that hole, you're in, a little bit deeper. Mama would be so disappointed in you if she was alive."

"I know. God, Peter I didn't think this would happen."

"You didn't think at all, Jasper. It was going to be hard enough for you and Bella to adjust to daily life with the twins, but throwing in a girlfriend who only cares about herself and you were just asking for shit to hit the fan. And unfortunately, it was Bella and the babies who've gotten the brunt of it."

"The babies weren't there tonight. They were staying with Esme."

"That's not the point. They may be young, but that doesn't mean what's going on around them doesn't affect them. You've been up there how long, just over a month right? How much time have you actually spent with them?"

"I don't know."

"And if I was to ask Bella that same question, what would her immediate answer be?"

"Every day."

"Exactly. I may not be an expert on kids, seeing as how Char and I don't have any, but that affects them. They see Bella on a daily basis. They know she's there and that she takes care of them. Not having her there is going to be like their parents have mysteriously disappeared all over again. Now with you, it wouldn't bother them if you never showed up again. That two or three hours you pop your ugly face in isn't enough for them to know you care about them."

"But I do."

"Then you need to man the fuck up and show them. Do the things that need to be done. Take care of the most important things in this world to your best friends and be the father they asked you to be. Because if you don't I swear on all things holy I will fly up there and kick your ass. I've done it before so you know I mean what I say."

"That's was once and I was 14." I said.

"And you're still a scrawny little fucker. Just remember what I said. And be thankful I'm not Char or she would already be on a plane. Hopefully, I can calm her down enough to keep her from doing it anyway."

"Charlotte knows I've been an idiot though."

"She does?"

"I think so. She called me earlier and laid into me about going to the house tonight. She knew Bella was sick and told me pretty much what you did. That she'd kick my ass if I didn't straighten out."

"Well, I guess my wife and I will be having a nice little chat when she gets back from the grocery store."

"You might as well make the couch up now. You know you'll end up there if you open your mouth at all."

"True, but still this isn't about something stupid. I should have known how you were acting. If I had maybe it wouldn't have gotten this bad."

"Unfortunately, I don't know if yelling at me would have helped me see what I was doing. I would have gotten defensive, just like I did with Bella."

"What do you mean like you did with Bella?"

"It was a couple weeks ago. She was tired and just needed some sleep. She asked for my help and while I thought I was helping I realize now that I was doing what I could to just get her off my back."

"Please tell me you didn't say or do something stupid." I laughed humorlessly. "What the hell did you do?"

"I accused her of being jealous."

"Seriously? What the fuck does she have to be jealous of?"

"That's what Bella asked."

"And what did your idiot brain come up with for an answer?" I groaned and heard him chuckle. "That bad?"

"Yes, I told her it was because she wasn't the one I was sleeping with." 

"Oh shit. She didn't hit you for that?"

"No, I got a fuck you instead."

"I'm sure you didn't stop there so what else did you say."

"That I'd already been there and done that."

"Fuck..." He said. "Wait? What do you mean been there done that? Have you and Bella slept together?"

"Once, at Edward and Alice's wedding."

"Oh man," He said laughing. "That is priceless. Did they know?"

"No, we never told anyone. It happened and we moved on from it."

"Oh dude you are so screwed."

"How do you figure that?"

"Because you and Bella have a past, as small a part of the bigger area as it is, but it's still there. The tension between you two is going to be something else. That is when you both are around each other for longer than an hour or two."

"It's not going to be like that."

"Why not?"

"One-I'm still with Maria and two-I don't think of Bella that way."

"Again I ask why not? I know I've only met her once, but I can already tell she has way more to offer than the one you're with now. In looks and personality. And don't tell me you don't think she's hot."

"Of course she is, but it still doesn't change the fact that I don't see us together like that."

"Whatever. We'll see how much your tune changes when you and Bella are acting like a family."

"You need to drop that line of thinking quickly and I don't want you putting the idea in Char's head either."

"It is a good idea though."

"No, its not. Bella and I don't need anything else complicating the situation we're in. I've already done that enough. Plus, I'm still with Maria."

"Unfortunately..." He mumbled, but I still heard him.

"Peter, don't."

"But she-"

"No." I said interrupting him. "I know Maria and I need to have a talk and we will later, but right now I don't want to hear your opinion on what you think about her."

"Fine. I'll stop, but the talk you two have needs to be about her coming back to Texas. You and Bella need some time alone with the twins to get into a routine and working together."

"I know," I said dreading that conversation already.

"Good. Now I'm going to go. I just heard Char pull into the garage. I'll let her know about Bella."

"Thanks brother."

"You're welcome. Just don't screw up again."

"I can't guarantee that won't happen, but I won't screw up quite as bad. Trust me, finding Bella passed out in the hallway was enough to open my eyes. The lectures afterwards even more."

He chuckled. "Alright, go check on her and keep us updated."

"I will. Bye."

"Bye."

I hit end on my phone and then scrubbed my hands through my hair. I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly before turning to head back into the hospital, only to stop in my tracks when I found Esme leaning just to the side of the doors.

"Is she awake?" I asked.

"No, Carlisle said it will probably be tomorrow morning. That her body has taken over and is giving her what she needs."

"I'm so sorry, Esme." I said stepping forward.

"I know you are, but that doesn't get Bella out of the hospital bed and back at home with the twins. And I'm not saying she's completely blameless. She knowingly lied to me when I asked if you were helping and we will talk about that when she wakes up, but you should have not given her a reason to lie. You should have been there like my son and daughter asked you to be. You should have been helping her."

"I promise I will from now on. This won't happen again."

"I believe that too, but I think you need something else just to make sure it's firmly implanted in your brain." 

"What?" I asked suddenly worried.

"A walk in Bella's shoes. She's going to be here until at least Sunday, so until then you are the parent. I was going to tell you to call into work for the next three days, but I realized I don't have that right, the twins don't need their routine messed up anymore than it already is, and Bella didn't stop working either.

"So, you will leave here and go home and not the hotel either. Tomorrow you will get up go to work and then when you get off you will come pick up the twins before going back home. You will feed them, bathe them, change them, put them to bed, get up through the night, get them ready in the morning, and then bring them back to me before starting it all over again. Everything Bella accomplished in a day so will you."

"But I don't know what they eat or..." I said only to trail off because it made me sound like the jackass I was.

"I will make a list of the foods they like and when you pick them up I will show you what temperature the bath water should be. Other than that you are on your own when you leave my house."

"What about the weekend?"

"Bella usually has them all day and I'm pretty sure she takes them to the grocery store on Saturdays."

My eyes widened at the thought, but I didn't say a word. This was what I deserved.

"Any more questions?"

"No, ma'am."

"All right. I would suggest you go home now and get some sleep. So you are well rested for tomorrow. You're going to need it."

I nodded and swallowed thickly as I pulled my keys from my pocket.

As I turned walk to my car Esme said, "Oh and Jasper, she is not to come to the house without Bella there."

"Yes ma'am." I said again and continued on out to the parking lot.

As I drove home I wondered what the next few days were going to be like. I knew it wasn't going to be as easy as I'd assumed it had been for Bella. Her present location made that glaringly obvious.

But I wasn't about to let that sway me. It was time to man up and take care of my responsibilities.


	9. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: ****Yeah I don't own it. I just like to turn all of them human and have my fun with them. **

**Thanks to Kim Rathbone you are such a big help.  
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**Hope you guys enjoy the chapter...Longest one yet.**

**-TG-**

_**Bella**_

God, I felt horrible. My body ached, my head felt like it was going to explode, and why did the alarm have to be going off now?

I shifted in my bed and reached for the clock, only to find it and my side table were not where they were supposed to be. Groaning I peeled my eyes open and found I wasn't even in my bedroom. I'd been in the hospital enough to know that was where I was, but how in the hell had I gotten here? I remember getting home and upstairs, but after that things went fuzzy.

Turning my head slightly, I found Esme and Rose sitting on one side of the bed.

"How do you feel?" Esme asked quietly.

"Like I've been run over and then dragged by a truck." I answered before going into a little coughing fit that made my chest hurt. Esme handed me a small cup of water that I drank down quickly. When I handed it back I asked, "What happened and why am I here?"

"You have pneumonia, you're dehydrated, and completely exhausted. Jasper found you passed out in the hallway at home."

"Jasper?"

"Yes, thankfully he was there. Especially, when that doesn't always seem like it's the case."

My eyes widened. "Esme...I-"

"You lied to me, Bella." She said cutting me off. "I've asked you time and time again if he was helping and you always told me he was. Why did you lie?"

I felt tears prick the back of my eyes at the amount of disappointment I heard in Esme's voice. As the first tear fell over I whispered, "I was afraid."

"Afraid of what?"

"That I would lose the twins. That you would take them away from me. It was specific that Jasper and I took care of them."

Rose leaned forward and shook her head at me before she said, "Do you think that little of us Bella?"

"No, I just..." I trailed off thanks to a sob that worked it's way out.

"We would never do that to you because of something like that. Jasper made the choice to not be there and that isn't your fault. What is your fault is where you're at right now. It could have been prevented if you had just told us what was going on." Rose said, but kept going before I could say anything else. "What would have happened if you passed out while driving? If the twins had been in the car at the time? We've already lost two members of this family, don't make us lose anymore because you don't want to ask for help."

I was crying so hard I couldn't even speak, especially when I started coughing again. Rose and Esme, both had tears falling from their eyes as well, but moved to grab me another cup of water and to get some tissues.

Once we'd all settled back down I said, "I'm so sorry."

"We know," Esme said. "But you have to ask for help from now on. It's hard being a mother; Rose and I can both attest to that. No one expects you to be perfect and do everything on your own."

"I just wanted to make Edward and Alice proud and show them they didn't choose wrong."

"I know you did, Sweetie." Esme said, standing up and leaning over the bed to hug me. "But even they asked for help every now and then."

I nodded against her shoulder and when she pulled back I said, "I will from now on. I need to talk to Jasper too and..." I trailed off when Rose snorted. "What?"

"Jasper will be helping a lot more from now on I think," She said grinning.

"Why?" I asked when I saw Esme sporting her own smile. "What happened?"

"Well, after Charlie and Emmett laid into him, Mom here decided he needed a little wake up call."

"Should I be scared?"

"Only for Jasper." Rose said giggling.

"Okay...?"

"Let's just say he's going to be walking in your shoes while you're in the hospital." Esme answered finally. "He needs to see what it's like to be the single parent and what you did every day. I think it will open his eyes to the fact that in this case two is better than one."

I was confused as to what she was talking about at first and then it dawned on me. "So, he's going to be the one watching the twins?"

"Yes."

"Is that wisest choice though? I don't think he's ever been around kids."

"He'll never learn if he's not forced to do this. I have faith he'll be fine though. I told him I'd help with what they ate and other little things, but he was the one that had to take care of them at night after work."

I huffed out a quick bark of laughter. "How long am I going to be in the hospital?"

"Until Sunday, at least. Carlisle wants you to rest and get better before you go back home."

"So, he'll be with them for about five nights. That's going to be interesting."

"Yes, it is, but it's what he needs. And before I forget, I need you to make up a grocery list for Saturday."

"Why?"

"I might have told Jasper you take the twins to the grocery store on Saturday mornings."

"But I don't. I always go on Friday nights before I pick them up."

"Yes, and if Jasper was home like he was supposed to be he'd know that." Rose and I cracked up which led to another coughing fit for me. Once I'd calmed back down Esme continued, "Okay, I think we need to let you rest again. I'll let Carlisle know you're awake, so he'll be by to check on you later. Charlie had to go into work, but he said he'd be back this afternoon."

"What day is it?" I asked, only then realizing I didn't know how long I'd been in the hospital.

"Tuesday morning."

"Where are the twins?"

"With Emmett at Mom's house," Rose answered. He didn't have to be into work until later today."

"Oh okay. Ummm...can you call me in the morning and let me know how Jasper does tonight?" I asked Esme.

"I will and I'll ask Carlisle if it would be okay to bring them in one afternoon. He might say no, but we'll see. If he does I'll just call and hold the phone to their ears."

"Thank you." I said fighting back more tears.

"You're welcome, Bella." She said leaning over to give me another hug.

When she stepped back Rose leaned over to give me one as well. Before she pulled back she whispered, "You scare us like that again and I will kick your ass."

"I won't, I promise." I said smiling up at her.

She smiled back and then with a kiss on the cheek she stood back up. She and Esme grabbed their things and were almost at the door when I remember one thing.

"Esme, I don't want _her__-_"

She held up her hand cutting me off. "I already told Jasper that she was not allowed to come to the house without you there."

I let out a breath and nodded, thankful that that was one thing I didn't have to worry about. Of course, then I remember something else. "Work?"

"I'll go by the studio today and call your appointments to cancel them. I'll let them know you'll call next week to reschedule."

"Okay, thank you both."

"You're welcome, Bella," They both said before giving me a smile and leaving the room, the door shutting softly behind them.

As soon as they'd left the exhaustion and aches came back full force and I found my eyes closing quickly as sleep once again took me away.

**-****TG****-**

_**Jasper**__** (**__**starts **__**on **__**Tuesday**__** morning**__**) **_

I'd put off the phone call to Maria long enough. I hadn't wanted to deal with the inevitable conversation I knew was going to happen. She wouldn't be happy about spending the week alone, but it was what it was.

I did wait until I was on the way to work before I called though. That way I would have an excuse to hang up if it got to the point that she wouldn't listen.

Fixing my earpiece I pulled up her number and hit the button to call her. It rang twice before she answered and I knew it wasn't going to be fun just by her greeting.

_"It's about time you called."_ She hissed.

"I'm sorry. Things came up last night and I had some things to take care of."

_"Whatever, we'll talk about it when you get to the hotel tonight."_

"That's actually why I'm calling now. I can't come to the hotel tonight or for the rest of the week." I said bracing myself for her anger.

She didn't say anything for almost a full minute and then in a barely controlled voice asked, "_What the fuck do you mean you won't be coming to the hotel for the rest of the week?"_

"Bella is in the hospital. I have to get the kids and watch them."

_"Where's their grandmother?"_

"She's keeping them during the day, but I'm watching them at night."

_"So what am I supposed to do."_

I sighed. "I don't know, Maria. I can't change it and I'm not going to even try. This is what I agreed to and I need to step up and start doing it."

_"Well, I guess I could come help you."_

"No, Esme asked that you not come over."

_"That's bullshit, Jasper. Last time I checked it wasn't her house."_

"No, but it is Bella's house and she's asked that you not come over either. I'm not going to go against that, especially while she's not there."

I heard her let out a gush of air through her nose before she said, _"I guess I'll just go back to Texas then, not like you care."_

I rolled my eyes. "I do care, but I can't keep shirking my responsibilities. It's only a week that I can't see you. Then we'll work out times so I can see you and do what I need to at home. Can you not just give me a week?"

At first I thought she was going to say no, since she didn't say anything, but then she finally took in a deep breath and said, _"Fine, I'll give you a week, but then we need to have a serious discussion."_

"Okay." I said just wanting to be done with it for now.

_"You will call me though."_ It wasn't a question, but I answered anyway.

"Yes. I will call every night."

_"Fine."_ She said before hanging up on me.

I shook my head and jerked the earpiece out of my ear. If she was going to act like that our serious discussion wasn't going to go like she hoped it would. I didn't have time to deal or think about it now though.

I pulled into the school lot at that moment and gathered my things together, going straight into the building and to my room. The day passed by quickly and before I knew it I was on the way to Esme's house.

After parking in the driveway I walked up to the front door and knocked. Carlisle let me in a few seconds later.

"How's Bella?" I asked right away.

"She's okay. She gone back and forth between sleeping and being awake most of the day. We also got some food into to her, so she'll be just fine with a little more rest." He said leading me into the living room.

"Good."

He gave me a slight smile before moving over to settle beside Esme who was sitting on the couch. The twins were on the floor, laying on their backs, and playing with some toys that were hanging from a little arch thing over their heads.

I was about to sit in the chair opposite Esme and Carlisle when she patted the cushion beside her. I moved over there and she handed me a sheet of paper.

"Here is their schedule; times for dinner, bath time, bedtime, and when you need to wake them up. At the bottom is a list of their favorite foods and how much they both eat, a list of their favorite toys, how to mix up the cereal for breakfast and then also how to make up their bottles before bed, and anything else you might need."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, now if you'll follow me into the kitchen I'll show you what temperature their bath water needs to be."

I nodded and stood up, walking behind her to the kitchen. She showed me what I needed to know and then we both went back to the living room. Carlisle had picked up Kinsley while we were gone and Esme moved to pick up Aiden before they headed toward the front door.

"Grab those," Esme said pointing at two car seats in the foyer. "I had Carlisle stop and get the ones out of Bella's car."

I nodded and picked up the two car seats. Once we got out to my truck I opened up the extended cab, thankful I had a bench seat back there.

"Here, Jasper," Carlisle said handing me Kinsley. "I'll buckle the seats in."

"Thank you." I said and then moved over so I could watch him. It didn't take him long and then Esme showed me out to buckle the twins in and I, once again, felt like shit. Not even knowing how to do that was wrong on so many levels.

Once they were situated in their seats Esme turned toward me. "You'll be fine. Just follow the schedule and stay calm. If you have questions you can call, but other than that you're on your own."

"I know." I said glancing into the truck.

"Remember don't leave them in the bathtub alone and don't forget to get the monitor out of Bella's bedroom, so you can hear them if they wake up in the middle of the night. Other than that have fun and I will see you in the morning."

"Okay." I said.

She gave me a smile and a hug before Carlisle shook my hand. I climbed up into my truck and started the engine. Taking a deep breath I glanced in the rear view mirror, finding both of the twins smiling at me. Those smiles showed me why I agreed to this in the first place and I knew could do it.

I put the truck in reverse and turned around in the driveway before pulling away and driving home. Once I parked in the garage I unbuckled both them and carried them into the living room, setting them on the floor before I sat on the couch and pulled out Esme's list.

After a check of my watch I saw that dinner time wasn't for another hour, so I slipped the list back into my pocket before sliding off the couch and onto the floor. For the next hour, the twins and I played with a ball. Actually, it was more me rolling it to each of them, them trying to eat it, me taking it back, and repeating, but they seemed to have fun and were giggling up a storm.

At 6:30, I picked them and carried them through to the kitchen. Of course, once I got in there I had to stop and think. Now, how did I get them in their high chairs and buckled in? After just a second though, I figured it out and sat both of them down on the floor. Dragging their chairs over to the table I buckled them in one by one and got their trays situated before hunting up their food. I found it in the cabinet beside the fridge and after checking the list again I pulled out a jar of bananas and a jar of apples. Setting both on the table with a couple spoons, I then moved to make up their bottles, following the directions Esme had provided. Once I had everything I thought I'd need I settled down in a chair and started to feed them. Surprisingly, it was easy. They both ate really good and there wasn't a big mess. I was pretty proud of myself.

Once they were finished eating it was time for their baths, so after cleaning up the jars I took them out of their seats and carried them to the downstairs bathroom. I sat them down on the floor and then turned to the bathtub, only to come up short again and I knew it was going to require a phone call.

Pulling my phone from my pocket I quickly found Esme's number and hit dial. It rang once before she answered.

_"Is everything okay?"_

"Yes," I said quickly so she wouldn't worry. "But...ummm...how much water do I put in the tub?"

She laughed and said,_ "Put your hand flat on the bottom and fill it to about three inches above your wrist."_

"Oh okay, thank you."

_"You're welcome. I forgot to mention there should be two blue seats in the bathroom for them to sit in. You just place it in the water. It keeps them from sliding around."_

I glanced around and finally found what she was talking about under the sink. Placing both in the bathtub, I started the water and made sure it was the right temperature before plugging the stopper in.

Esme had been silent the entire time and then asked, _"Is there anything else you need to know?"_

"Oh, do I wash their hair and stuff?"

She laughed again. _"Yes. There should be baby wash on the ledge of the tub or somewhere. Take it and squirt it on a washcloth and then lather it up. Once you do that wash both of their bodies and run the washcloth over their hair, but don't wash their faces. Then rinse out the washcloth, making sure all the soap is out of it and then wash their faces and rinse off their hair with it. You can use a small cup to rinse the soap off their bodies. They like it when the water runs over them and will usually laugh."_

"Alright. Thank you, Esme."

_"Anytime Jasper."_

She hung up then and I went back to the twins, undressing Aiden first and setting him in his seat before doing the same with Kinsley. The bath was easy too. They played with the toys connected to their seats and giggling while I rinsed them off. Once I finished I pulled two towels from under the sink and took them out of the tub, drying them off. I made sure to pull the plug before carrying both of them upstairs to the nursery.

This time I was quicker on figuring out what to do and set Aiden in his crib while I got Kinsley dressed. I found those one piece thingies Bella put them in last time and managed to get it and her diaper on without trouble. Aiden was easy too and before I knew it we were back downstairs for the last thirty minutes before bedtime.

We played with the ball again and then I carried them back upstairs, lay them down, gave them their pacifiers, and turned on their mobiles. Before I left the room I made sure the nightlight and monitor was on and then closed the door behind me.

I hated going into Bella's room without her there, but I had to. I quickly grabbed the monitor and got out of there, going back downstairs. I walked into the kitchen first, realizing that I hadn't eaten yet and I was hungry. I found a frozen pizza and put it in the oven to cook while I looked around to see if there was anything I needed to do; there wasn't and once again I was back to feeling like complete shit. Bella had not only, single-handily, taken care of the twins, but she'd kept the house clean too. God, I had so much to make up for.

Scrubbing my hands over my face and then through my hair, I went back to the kitchen and waited for my pizza to finish cooking. While I ate I thought about everything that had happened in the last month or so. Losing Edward and Alice should have put things into perspective, that life was too short and things shouldn't be taken for granted. I'd done the exact opposite though. I'd taken Bella for granted, thinking she would pick up my slack and while she'd done that she shouldn't have had to.

They had trusted us, _us_ not just Bella, to raise the twins and I'd just gone on about my merry way. I was such a fucking asshole.

Peter had been completely right too. Mama would have been so disappointed and would have already beaten my ass until I couldn't sit for a week. After dad died, when Peter was 7 and I was 5, she'd done everything possible to make sure we were raised right. She taught us everything he would have, the main thing was how to treat a woman. When we found out she had cancer and that she didn't have long she made sure it was beat into our heads even more. Peter had already been with Charlotte for a few years, so he was good.

I'd, however, thrown it right out the window with Bella. I treated her like shit and if anyone deserved to be treated right, it was her. Even, if we weren't romantically involved. She deserved respect, plain and simple, and I'd been seriously lacking in giving it to her. I'd started to rectify that though and I just hoped like hell I would eventually earn it back, because lord knew I'd probably lost any she'd had for me.

Sighing, I shook my head to clear the thoughts in there and moved to clean up my mess. After I was done I headed into the living room, looking over the lesson plan for tomorrow. I was so glad I didn't have homework or tests to worry about grading. Being a music teacher had its definite perks.

I made a few changes in my planner and then turned the TV for a little before finally going to bed around 11. I slept great. The twins slept through the night and I woke up on Wednesday morning ready to go.

Little did I know, they'd only led me into a false sense of security yesterday.

The day started off bad and only got worse from there. I was late for work since I didn't take into account the time it would take getting myself and the twins ready, getting them fed, and then taking them to Esme's house. I figured up that I'd need to set the alarm an hour earlier just to make it on time. Granted, I might not have been as late if Aiden hadn't of peed on me as soon as I took his diaper off. I'd had to wash off and change my clothes again after getting them both ready.

Work was easy though and I was soon leaving to pick the twins up. The day went back to bad. They cried the entire way from Esme's to the house and once there they wouldn't play with any toys. Dinner and bath time were okay, except for the fact that Kinsley kept dropping her bottle to the floor. Then it was time for bed where Aiden peed on me again. By the time I'd had them lying down and had changed I was starving, opting for frozen pizza again.

Sleep that night was sporadic as they both woke up twice and at the same time. When the clock went off the next morning I wanted to slap it across the room, even more so when I realized I'd forgotten to set it for an hour earlier so I was once again going to be late.

Thursday was not any better. I was tired at work and therefore, was short with my students. They all looked at me like I'd kicked their puppies since I'd never been like that before; I even had one ask if everything was okay. I'd replied the only way I knew how at the moment, to ask me again later when I'd had some sleep.

The drive home from Esme's was quieter, but then it all went down hill from there. Play time was a lost cause again. Dinner found me wiping more food up off the floor, my face, and theirs than they ate. Bottles hit the floor over and over again and Kinsley puking was the grossest thing I'd ever seen or smelled. I gave up on not trying to gag as I cleaned it up and just tried to not actually throw up myself. Aiden didn't help with his giggling either. It was like he was trying to say 'Ha ha, we fooled you. You thought we were good kids, but that's not the case.'

I thought bath time would be easy. HA. It started out that way, until Kinsley decided to crawl away while I was sitting Aiden over in his seat. After taking him back out of the tub and wrapping him in a towel, he peed on me and then laughed about it. Ignoring it for the moment I carried him out of the bathroom in search of Kinsley. It didn't take me long to find her, but when I did it was just the perfect ending.

She was sitting by the living room entryway, my bag tipped over beside her, and she was pulling out sheet music for my classes tomorrow. I didn't think babies at that age could destroy anything major in that short of time, but I was so wrong. Her tiny little hands had two sheets and they were wrinkled to hell and back; more pages sat to the side already having gone through her hands.

Ignoring it too, I reached down and picked her up, only then noticing the ones in her hands were a little wet. Of course they would be. Shaking my head I took them back to the bathroom making sure to shut the door that time and got them situated, finally, before removing my wet shirt.

It went much easier then and by the time I was done it was bedtime. I did everything I needed to and then went straight to my room. I was completely fucking exhausted and fell asleep without changing out of my pants. Like the night before this one was spent getting up and down a few times and the next morning I was even more tired and once again late.

I was on auto pilot driving over to Esme's house. I had enough sense to pay attention to what I was doing, but nothing else registered at all. As I pulled to a stop in the driveway she and Carlisle came out to get the twins.

They took one look at me and both busted out laughing. Carlisle calmed down first and was quick to point out, "You look like shit, Jasper."

"I'm completely exhausted."

"And now you know why Bella is where she is. You've done it two days, what if you had to do this for a month like she did?" Esme said, fighting a smile.

"Trust me, I've learned my lesson from just last night alone."

"Good, now the next few days will only cement it a little bit more. Just so you don't forget."

"Yes ma'am." I said.

She gave me a smile as Carlisle laughed behind his hand. I just shook my head and climbed back into my truck before heading off to work.

I'm not ashamed to admit that I did nothing productive once I got there. I allowed my students to talk the entire period while I nodded off occasionally at my desk. I let them think I was just being nice since it was Friday and to make up for yesterday, when in all actuality, I'd just forgotten to grab my bag this morning and had nothing with me. Plus I was fucking tired.

When I went to leave, one of the teachers stopped me and asked if I was okay. I just nodded and trudged out to my truck. Getting to Esme's I found the twins ready to go. They were all smiles and I hoped tonight would be better. Before we left Esme made sure I had the grocery list and two contraptions that she didn't bother telling me when, why, or how I used them. To top it off she only grinned when I asked.

Once we got home I settled the twins on the floor, with some toys they thankfully played with, and then grabbed my laptop. I pulled up a search engine, typed in baby contraptions, and opened the first link only to hit the back button after a minute. I so did not need to see the start of some woman giving birth. I clicked on the next link only to find the same fucking thing. What the hell? It was then I noticed I'd typed in contractions instead of contraptions. Fuck my life.

I got the right word typed in and new links came up; the first one a store called Babies R Us. I clicked on it and then went through the site until I found things that looked like what Esme had given me. The first was some kind of backpack, sling, baby holder thing. Apparently it let me carry one of the twins while keeping my arms free. The other thing ending up being something that went into the grocery cart so a baby couldn't gnaw on the metal bars. That was good I guess, since you didn't really know who in the fuck touched them last.

I finished up my search and went on about the rest of the night, getting peed on twice; once from Kinsley when I went to put her in the tub and once from Aiden when I changed his diaper before bed. I ended up missing dinner again and collapsed on the bed before 9 o'clock sleeping a few hours before Kinsley woke. It was the only time though and she didn't wake Aiden up, so I was able to get her back down quickly and slept until the next morning.

I stayed in bed until the twins woke up and then went to get them ready for the day. After dressing them in their outfits, which I had to admit were adorable as hell, I set them in the floor of my bedroom and just pulled on some clothes. I'd shower after they went to bed tonight or when they napped this afternoon.

After feeding them breakfast, I went to pack a diaper bag and found it already having everything I needed except for the bottles so I added two and we were out the door. Before I left the garage I made sure I had the list Bella had written and finding I did I backed out of the driveway.

Once we got to the store it took me a good 10 minutes to get the holder thingy on right. The first time I managed to have it upside down and then the second it would have put Kinsley on my back. Third time was the charm though and I got her situated while she made babbling noises and Aiden answered her with his own. I couldn't help chuckling at the two of them as they continued on with their baby talk while I fixed the cart cover and settled Aiden in it.

Grocery shopping was an experience; one that I never wanted to repeat again. If it wasn't stopping to pick up something the twins decided they didn't want to hold, then it was stopping for women to ooh and aah over them. I swear half the time I wanted to ask if they'd ever seen children before because they acted like they didn't. On top of that, it took forever to find everything on the list and by the time I found the last item the twins were both crying. No one was oohing and aahing then. No, they were looking at me like I needed to get the hell out of there as soon as possible. I tried to shush them, but it was to no avail and I finally just gave up.

I paid as quickly as I could and we left the store behind. The twins both fell asleep on the way home and stayed asleep as I carried them up to the nursery. While they slept I put the groceries away in the spots I think they went in and then took a quick shower before finding something to eat.

Once they were both awake again and I'd fed them lunch we spent the rest of the day in the living room. While they played on the floor I wrote up my lesson plans for the coming week and then I got down there with them until dinner time.

After they'd eaten and before I stuck them in the bath I called in an order for Chinese food. As I was getting them out of the tub the doorbell rang. Wrapping them both up in towels I carried them with me as I went to answer the door.

I thought it would be my food, but was shocked to see Maria standing on the front steps.

"What are you doing here?" I asked after a few seconds.

"Well, since you aren't answering your phone or calling me I figured I'd make sure you were alive. I can see that you are." She sneered.

Shit, I had forgotten to call her. I'd been too tired and hadn't thought of anything else except my bed. I don't know when she called though, since I never heard my phone ring. I'd have to check it in a little bit. I was brought back to the situation when both Kinsley and Aiden started crying.

"I'm sorry, I've just been busy."

"I can see that." She snapped. "You look like shit."

Rolling my eyes, I said, "I can't really talk right now. I need to get these guys dressed and in the bed. I'll come see you tomorrow night sometime."

"I think we need to talk now."

"Maria..."

"No, I'm tired of being put last."

"You aren't being put last," I sighed and bounced the twins, hoping they'd calm down a little.

"Yes, I am and I want to talk."

"Fine," I huffed. She was the one to roll her eyes this time. "Go on into the living room while I put the twins down. I'll be back in a few minutes."

I took my time dressing the twins. The conversation Maria and I were about to have was not going to end well and I was dreading it, but I couldn't keep doing this with her. After seeing and doing what Bella had done for a month I knew I was going to have to be here a lot of the time. Things would be easier with the two of us working together and Maria was either going to have to deal with that or we were going to be breaking up. I had a feeling it was going to be the latter, but there was nothing I could do about it if it was.

I settled the twins in their cribs before wishing them a goodnight and stepping out of the nursery. Taking a deep breath I headed downstairs, wanting to get whatever was going to happen over with.

**-TG-**

**Well? Was Jasper tortured enough? Do you think he learned his lesson? Review and let me know.**

**Up Next: Maria is finally kicked to the curb. Can we all say yay!**


	10. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: ****Yeah I don't own it. I just like to turn all of them human and have my fun with them. **

**Thanks to Kim Rathbone you are such a big help.  
><strong>

**The wonderful christag_banner made me a beautiful banner. Link is on my profile.**

**Sorry this is late. I had a sick kid that took away from writing time and now I have a sick husband. Lord knows they're worse than the kids sometimes. The chapter is here now though and I know it's what all of you were waiting on. **

**SO Enjoy...**

**-TG-**

_**Jasper**_

I stopped at the bottom of the stairs and after taking a deep breath I moved into the living room. Maria was perched on the edge of the couch and looking around. When her eyes fell on me she stood up, but before she could say anything the doorbell rang.

She rolled her eyes and huffed, but I ignored it as I went to get my dinner. After paying and setting it in the kitchen I returned to the living room.

"Can we talk now?" Maria asked as soon as I walked in, her voice leaving no room for argument.

"Yeah," I sighed and scrubbed my hand over my face.

"Good, I-" She started, but was cut off by a sharp cry that came through the monitor.

I stood up immediately and walked right out of the room, quickly going upstairs and into the nursery.

"What's wrong, little man?" I whispered picking Aiden up out of his crib.

He whimpered and buried his head into my neck before he started crying again. I grabbed his pacifier and carried him out of the bedroom so he wouldn't wake Kinsley up. Knowing the conversation with Maria was going to have to wait now, I took him downstairs with me to tell her.

Stopping in the doorway I said, "We're going to have to do this another time."

"What?"

"I need to get him back to sleep. Just go back to the hotel and I'll come by tomorrow some time."

"I want to talk now." She said crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well, I don't have time. I need to get him back in bed."

"I can wait." She said motioning toward the stairs.

I sighed. "Just go, Maria. We can talk tomorrow."

"No."

"Yes." I snapped causing Aiden to start crying harder. After shushing him a little I looked back up only to find Maria gone. My brow furrowed and I glanced around wondering where the hell she'd disappeared to.

Just as I went to turn I heard her coming from down the hall behind me. "Where the hell did you go?" I asked.

"To the bathroom for this." She answered.

I glanced down and found her holding out a bottle of NyQuil. "And what do you expect me to do with that?"

"Give it to him. It always knocks me out."

"He's seven months old."

"Well, then just dip that thing in his mouth in it."

I huffed out an unamused laugh and reached out for the bottle of medicine. She smiled like she'd just given me the holy grail, but all she'd done, with one action, was show me exactly what I'd been blind to. What Peter, Charlotte, and even Bella had known and tried to tell me-she was a bitch who only thought of herself.

Holding Aiden a little tighter to me I said, "Get the fuck out of my house."

"I knew...wait...what?"

"You heard me."

"But we were going to talk."

"Yeah, we don't need to do that anymore."

"Why?"

"Seriously? You just wanted me to give a baby NyQuil to get him to sleep."

"So?"

"_SO?_ He's a baby. That shit could kill him."

"Not if you just dip his sucky thing in there. It will make him drowsy and then you will have the time you need to talk to me."

"And that right there is why you need to leave."

"I'm still not understanding what the problem is."

"You only think of yourself, Maria. You just want what you want when you want it."

"And why is that a bad thing? You used to do that too."

"I did, but I'm trying to fix that now. I have to be here for Bella and-"

"Don't talk to me about that bitch. She's the one that has caused all the problems. I have no doubt either that she got sick on purpose just to get you back here."

"Okay, you really need to go now. I'm not going to have you talking bad about Bella when she's done nothing wrong, and especially not in front of one of the twins."

"Well, put the brat back into his damn bed then." She hissed. "I can't believe you are just letting all three of them dictate your life like this. We are good together and..."

I tuned out some of her words, but it didn't stop the anger I already felt and then she went way too far, saying the one thing that ended any kind of feelings I had for her.

"...I wish they'd been in the car with Edward and Alice. Life would be-"

"ENOUGH!" I growled loudly, scaring Aiden and Maria. He started crying while she looked at me in shock. As I bounced him a little I said, "I want you out of this house, out of this city, and out of my life."

"Jazzy, I'm sorry." She tried.

"No, we are done. There is nothing you can say that will take back what you just said. It was about the lowest thing you could have ever said and it showed me exactly who you are. You should be so thankful you're a woman right now."

"And why should I do that?"

"Because if you weren't you be in a bloody fucking heap on the sidewalk. Now, get the fuck out of my house and don't come back."

"This isn't over."

"_Get__ out__ now_ or so help me I will call the police and have them remove you. And trust me when I say that I'll make sure it's Bella's father that does it."

She stared at me until I pulled my phone from my pocket and then with a huff she stalked toward the door. Jerking it open she stepped out onto the porch and started to turn around, but I didn't give her the chance to say anything and slammed it in her face. I will admit it felt pretty damn good.

I heard Kinsley start crying upstairs, but Aiden didn't. Glancing down at him I found him with a smile like he was saying about damn time.

Chuckling I kissed his forehead and said, "I know, little man." He giggled and snuggled back into my neck. I gave him a hug and turned toward the stairs. "Come on, Buddy. Let's get you and your sister back to sleep."

It didn't take me as long as I thought it would to get them down again; actually all it took was a diaper change and giving them their pacifiers, but I stood there for a good five minutes after their eyes had closed.

I knew I'd done the right thing in kicking Maria out. Her actions tonight showed me that she would have never accepted my new life. Hell, her actions before tonight showed me the same thing. I'd just been too stupid to see it. Things were different now, my eyes were wide open, and I was going to make my best friends proud of me.

I was going to, with the help of Bella, raise the twins to be the people their parents would have wanted them to be.

Smiling one last time at Kinsley and then at Aiden I turned and headed out of the room. Making my way back downstairs I quickly ate my now cold dinner before crashing for the night.

The twins stayed asleep and the next morning all three of us started off our day well rested. It as just after lunch and we were in the living room when I heard cars pull into the driveway. Getting up off the floor I checked out the front window and found Bella getting out of Charlie's car.

I grinned before turning around and picking up the twins.

"Bella's home guys. Let's go say hey."

I had just reached the front door when it opened and she was standing there. The twins immediately perked up as Bella burst into tears. I handed her Kinsley and waited while she hugged and kissed her before I took her back and handed Aiden to her.

She did the same with him and then glanced at me over his head. "Welcome home." I said with a small smile.

She returned it and then said, "Thank you."

I nodded as the rest of the family came up behind Bella.

"You need to get settled Bella. You still have to rest for another week." Carlisle said.

"I know. Can I hang out in the living room for a while though?"

"Of course." He said with a smile.

She carried Aiden through to the other room and I followed behind with Kinsley. Once she was sitting on the couch I sat Kinsley beside her and stepped back.

"Bella, I'm sorry." I said.

She looked up at me and said, "I know, Jasper and I'm sorry too, but we can talk more later okay?"

"Okay." I said. I knew she wanted to just spend time with the twins so I wasn't about to push it. We had plenty of time to talk.

After just a few minutes the room had cleared except for the twins, Andrew, Bella, myself, and Emmett. Rose and Esme had disappeared into the kitchen and I could smell something delicious being made while Carlisle and Charlie had ran back out to pick some things up at the pharmacy.

"So how did things go?" Bella asked.

"Good." I answered.

"Really?"

I shook my head. "Well, sometimes anyway." I said chuckling. "I was peed on quite a bit."

Bella, Emmett, and Andrew cracked up at my words which caused the twins to laugh as well. When he'd calmed down Emmett said, "Dude, you got to keep those parts covered until you get the other diaper ready to cover it back up immediately."

"I know, I just didn't figure that out until this morning." I said setting Emmett and Bella off again.

Bella shook her head and then moved to sit Kinsley in the floor. "Speaking of peeing I'll be right back."

I moved Aiden over to my lap from where he was leaning against her so she could get up. When she'd rounded the corner Emmett said, "You did good, Jasper."

"I'm trying. It wasn't easy and I applaud all single parents. It will be fine from now on though. Bella and I can handle it together."

"Good, but I do have to ask...Maria-"

"Isn't going to be an issue anymore. We broke up last night."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, I'll tell you why later, but I think Bella needs to hear it first."

"Understandable." He said and let the conversation drop as we heard Bella coming back down the hall.

She'd just made it to the doorway when the doorbell sounded. I watched as she disappeared again to answer it and heard seconds later. "Jasper you have a visitor."

I knew it could only be Maria and growled lowly as I handed Aiden to Emmett and stood, moving quickly into foyer. Bella had the door open about a foot and sure enough Maria was on the porch. I stepped over to stand beside Bella and pulled the door open wider.

"I remember telling you not to come back last night." I hissed and out of my peripheral I saw Bella turn shocked eyes on me.

Before Maria commented her eyes darted over my shoulder. Glancing back I found Esme, Rose, and Emmett standing there looking at me the same way Bella was.

When I looked back to Maria she said, "I thought I'd give you the chance to apologize and fix the mistake you made last night."

"I'm not apologizing for shit, and I didn't make any mistake. I said it was over and I meant it. Now, you need to leave."

"I'm not going anywhere. You don't get to say it's over. No one breaks up with me."

"Well, I did."

"I don't-"

"Okay, stop," Bella said cutting her off and then asked, "Jasper, what's going on?"

I told her everything. How Maria came over, how I let her in so we could talk, and then knowing what would happen I told her what Maria said. Bella's eyes widened and I could practically see the steam come out of her ears when I got to the NyQuil part, but it was the words Maria so heartlessly said that sent her over the edge.

I heard Rose lunge toward us but Bella beat her to the punch, quite literally, since her arm came back and flew forward, landing squarely against Maria's nose.

Maria cried out and clutched her nose as blood quickly seeped through her fingers. "You bitch, I'll have you arrested for this." She said after a few seconds.

"Yeah, that's not going to happen." I said.

"Yes, it will. She assaulted me." Maria spat.

"Actually, you're trespassing since I'd already told you not to come back here and I once again told you to leave minutes ago. You appeared threatening, so Bella was just defending herself and her family."

"I wasn't threatening anyone."

"I think there are enough witnesses here that would say otherwise." I said before leaning closer and lowering my voice. "Now, I suggest you leave and never darken our doorstep again. Or I will step aside and let the three women behind me have at you. I can assure you if that happens you won't be walking for a while."

I really thought she was going to be stupid, but after her eyes darted over my shoulder she seemed to change her mind. "Fine. I hope you're happy. You're letting the best thing that ever happened to you walk away."

"No, I'm not. After all, they can't walk yet. Now, get the hell out of here and if I wasn't clear before, let me say it again. Don't come back."

She huffed again and, after shooting a glare at Bella who returned it with one of her own, she finally stepped off the porch. I stood there watching until she got into the cab waiting on the street and it pulled away. When it was gone I stepped back and shut the door, leaning against it and closing my eyes.

"You okay?"

I opened my eyes and looked at Bella as I said, "Perfect."

She smiled and I pushed off the door. Walking over to her I wrapped my arms around her and gave her a hug. As her arms came around my waist she asked, "What's this for?"

"Hitting her." I answered. Bella laughed and moved her head back to look up at me so I explained. "After, she said it last night I really wanted to do it, but couldn't so thank you."

"You're welcome. It felt really good."

I chuckled. "I bet. I am sorry I went against your wishes last night though. I know you didn't want her here."

"It's okay." She said. I knew it was only okay because of the outcome, but I would take what I could get. After a few more seconds we pulled apart and returned to the living room.

Emmett was still grinning and was more than happy to reiterate what happened to Charlie and Carlisle when they came in twenty minutes later. The rest of the night was spent laughing and talking before we all sat down to the wonderful meal Esme and Rose had made.

Once everyone had eaten and things were cleaned up we sat down to figure out the next few days. I decided to call out of work tomorrow, but would take the twins to Esme for the day. That way Bella and I could talk and work things out. I'd go back to work on Tuesday and Esme would be coming to the house to stay with the twins and keep an eye on Bella until I got home.

When we were finished talking about it the others decided to head home for the night. After, I'd waved them off and shut and locked the front door I returned to living room, finding Bella in the middle of a yawn.

"Why don't you go on up to bed?"

"The twins need-" She started, but I held up a hand to stop her.

"I've got them."

She looked at me for a minute before nodding. "Yeah, you do." She pushed herself up off the couch and after giving them a kiss on the head she said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

After giving me a smile she turned to head out of the room and I bent to pick the twins up, so I could give them their baths. Just as I was standing back up with them Bella said, "Oh and Jasper..."

"Yeah?"

"Esme usually keeps them while I go to the grocery store."

My mouth dropped open and I stared at her in shock. Bella grinned and then laughed all the way up the stairs and out of hearing range.

When she was gone I just shook my head. I'd been tricked, but as I looked down into the smiling faces of the twins I couldn't find the will to be upset.

**-TG-**

**Well? Was the break up okay? I know most of you wanted Bella to hit Maria, so I gave you guys that. Hope it was good. Review and let me know?**

**Up next: Bella's POV-Bella and Jasper talk and come up with a routine. Jasper gets an interesting phone call. ;)**


	11. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: ****Yeah I don't own it. I just like to turn all of them human and have my fun with them. **

**A huge thanks to Twilightobsessed09 for making the chapter so pretty. If you haven't read her stuff you need to go do that.  
><strong>

**The wonderful christag_banner made me a beautiful banner. Link is on my profile.**

**Sorry I'm so late getting this out guys. I was sick for two weeks and just now getting caught back up. I promise it won't take as long for the next one.  
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**Enjoy...**

**-TG-**

_**Bella**_

It was so good to be back home, and even though I still had to rest for the next week, doing so in my own bed was much better than being in the hospital. Being around the twins and their chubby faces would be better than any medicine Carlisle could give me.

They looked as if they'd grown so much while I'd been in the hospital. I had been so worried about them, but I shouldn't have. Jasper had handled things well. I knew during our talk today that he deserved to hear something very important. It wasn't only that I was proud of him, but also he needed to hear that Alice and Edward would have been too. He deserved to hear a couple of apologies as well.

There was only one thing I knew I wouldn't be apologizing for, and that was hitting that bitch, Maria. Although, I don't think Jasper will mind one bit. Especially, after what she'd said. The tramp got what she deserved, and if I'd had more energy, it would have been worse. If I ever saw her again it would be a guaranteed beat-down for the bitch.

Ugh...just thinking about her again made me want to punch something. Closing my eyes, I took a few deep breaths to calm down, but before I could fully get the second one out I heard, "I'm back."

Opening my eyes, I found Jasper leaning against the door frame of my bedroom.

"How were they this morning?" I asked since I had woken up right as he was leaving to take the twins to Esme.

"Perfect."

"Good," I said giving him a small smile.

A brief silence followed before we both spoke at the same time.

"So, do you want to..."

"I guess we can..." I trailed off as Jasper finished his question. "...go down to the living room or kitchen to talk?"

"The kitchen is good." I answered as I moved off the bed.

He waited until I pulled on a sweatshirt over my pajamas before he turned and headed for the stairs with me following behind him.

Once we made it to the kitchen, Jasper motioned me into a chair. As he made up a pot of coffee I put my thoughts in order, wanting to make sure I said everything I needed to.

A few minutes later, Jasper slid a cup in front of me and I took a sip, my eyes widened in shock when it was just how I liked it.

"How did you get it perfect?" I asked in awe.

He shrugged his shoulder. "I remembered from the last time I got you coffee."

I could only stare at him as he went to get his own cup. When he turned around and caught me looking, he asked, "What?"

"You do realize that the last time was when Aiden and Kinsley were born, right? And that was almost 8 months ago?"

"So," He said with a smile.

"So? Jasper that's..." He kept looking at me in amusement so I just trailed off with a shake of my head. "Never mind."

He chuckled softly as he pulled the chair out across from me so that he could sit down. We both fiddled with our cups before we glanced at each other.

"Jasper, I-"

"Bella, I-"

Once again we'd spoken at the same time.

"While I would normally say ladies first, I think I should start," he said. When I nodded an okay, he continued. "Bella, I'm sorry. God, I'm so sorry for everything I've said and done since moving here. I took you for granted, and you need to know that it won't happen again. You need to know that I'm going to be here for the twins and for you from now on."

I nodded when he finished and then said what I needed to say. "I'm sorry too. I should have never told you to make such a big decision on the spur of the moment."

"Bella, you didn't make me-"

I held up my hand to stop him from continuing. "Yes, I did. We should have sat down and talked about it. We should have gone over everything and discussed how much it was going to change our lives before we said yes. Instead, I cried my eyes out and said things to make you agree right then and there." I sniffled. "I'm sorry for expecting you to just fall into this without caring about everything else in your life. You had to give up so much more than me and I should've been more patient with you. I should've talked to you calmly; instead of getting mad and letting things get so far out of hand." I cried. "Jasper, I want to thank you, and tell you how proud I am of you for the way you handled things this past week. Esme told me you had a few rough days, but you hung in there and did such a good job of taking care of Aiden and Kinsley. I know Edward and Alice would've been proud of you too."

I had to stop there before I became incoherent. Reaching up, I wiped the tears, that were falling, away before looking down at the table to give Jasper the time he needed to process what I had just said.

He was silent for just a moment and then he whispered, "Thank you. It means a lot to know that you think that."

I glanced up and gave him a small smile which he returned. I fiddled with my cup for a second and then took a deep breath in. "So, what do we-"

I was cut off by the ringing of Jasper's cellphone. He grimaced and pulled it from his pocket, glancing at the caller ID.

"It's Peter," he said.

"Go ahead and answer."

"You sure?"

"Of course," I said with a nod.

He smiled and hit answer as he put the phone to his ear. "Hey, big brother."

I could only make out the sound of Peter's voice on the other end, and while I couldn't hear the actual words I could tell they were good ones since Jasper's smile kept growing.

"Are you serious?" Jasper finally asked laughing. Peter said something else and then Jasper said, "Hold on, Bella needs to hear this too."

I looked at him in confusion as he put the phone on speaker.

"Okay, Peter, Bella can hear you now."

_"Hey Bells, how are you feeling, Beautiful?"_ Peter said. I could almost imagine the smile on his face.

I laughed and answered, "Much better now that I'm home."

_"Good, good. Well, I've got something to tell you that will make you feel like a million bucks."_

"Really? And what might that be?" I asked shaking my head at Jasper in amusement because he looked as if he was about to jump out of his seat in excitement.

_"So, this morning Charlotte and I were eating breakfast before she went to work. We were almost finished when the doorbell rang. Since it was so early in the morning, we didn't know who it could be possibly be. To be on the safe side, we both went to answer it. Guess who was on the other side?"_

I didn't have to guess. "Seriously?"

_"Yep."_ he confirmed.

_That __bitch__!_

"What did she say?" I asked.

_"That she caught you and Jasper in bed together two nights ago, and when she confronted the both of you, you hit her and made Jasper break up with her. Might I say before I continue that I'm proud of you both and Bells, you got a mean punch." He complimented._

Jasper and I laughed and then I asked, "So what happened?"

_"Well, of course we knew you were still in the hospital on the night in question since Charlotte had spoken to you earlier that day. Charlotte asked what the real reason was behind the two black eyes and the no boyfriend status. She tried to say again that finding you two together was the real reason, but Charlotte kept goading her until she finally blurted out the truth."_

"And?" I pressed as Jasper started chuckling.

_"She now has a broken nose to go with those black eyes. I'm so damn proud of my woman."_

"Oh my God. Tell Charlotte I love her." I told him.

_"I will, but that's not all."_

I couldn't believe this, what else had that bitch done. "What else happened?"

_"She started going on and on about how she was going to press charges. While she was arguing with Charlotte, I called the police and told them we had a trespasser. When they arrived she dropped her and her daddy's names, I guess thinking that it would make things go her way. They, however, didn't give a shit who she was nor who her daddy was and when she refused to leave at their request they wasted no time in slapping some handcuffs on her. She tried to get them to arrest Charlotte too, but they said it was clear she was just defending herself and me."_

"Peter, that was awesome and it makes me so freaking happy. Granted, I'm sure it's not the last we've heard from her. She doesn't seem like the type to give up easily, especially seeing as how she showed up at your house." I said.

_"Actually,"_ Peter said chuckling.

"What?" Jasper asked, sitting up straight in his chair. I guess Peter didn't get that far before I was brought into the conversation.

_"After the police left with Maria, Charlotte went on to work. It was about an hour later when the doorbell rang again. Imagine my surprise when I opened the door and found daddy standing on my front porch."_

"Let me guess he wanted you to drop the trespassing charge." Jasper said while rolling his eyes.

_"Of course. They can't have something even as small as that, be-smirking their good name."_

"What did you say?" Jasper asked.

_"I told him I would, little brother. After a few conditions anyway. One-I never want to see Maria again and two-that she was to stay away from you, Bella, the twins, and Washington. That meant no contact of any kind whatsoever. If she didn't stay away, I would drag his precious name through the mud so quick and for so long that there wouldn't be any chance of getting it clean."_

"You could do that?" I asked in shock. "How?"

_"With whatever means necessary. It's amazing what people will believe if something is said enough. Even if it's all a lie."_

I let out a laugh and just shook my head. "I love you, Peter."

_"As I do you, Bells. Now, how did my little brother do while you were away?"_

I looked up and smiled wide at Jasper before I answered, "He did a wonderful job, Peter."

_"That's what I wanted to hear. It's a good thing too or I would have sent Charlotte to kick his ass."_

Jasper started laughing, but I had no doubt Charlotte could do it.

Peter was chuckling along with him and then he calmed enough to say,_ "As much as I enjoy talking to you two I need to run now. I have some errands I need to get done."_

"Alright." Jasper said. "Thanks for calling and for what you did. Tell Charlotte thanks too."

_"Anytime little brother and I will. I'm sure Bells will hear from her later as well."_

"Yeah," I said laughing.

_"Okay, I really do need to go. Talk to you two later."_

"Bye Peter." We both replied.

Jasper hung up right after and slipped the phone back into his pocket. He glanced up at me and shook his head.

"I can't believe she actually went to Peter and Charlotte's house. That's just asking for trouble."

"Are you okay with how it turned out?" I asked. While I hated the whore I knew Jasper might have some type of residual feelings for her.

"I'm most definitely okay with never seeing or hearing from her again." He growled. "I saw exactly who she was the other night. The words that came out of her mouth stripped away any type of good feelings I might have had for her. The only thing I feel now is hatred and I'm glad she's gone."

I didn't say anything in return to his words. I could have bashed on her, but really I didn't want to think about her anymore. She was gone and, if she knew what was good for her, she'd stay that way.

I picked up my cup and drank the last few inches of my now cold coffee and then said, "I guess we need to come up with a routine or something to make the day easier for both of us."

"Yeah." He agreed.

We started asking questions back and forth until we'd ironed out a daily plan. Jasper would get up fifteen minutes earlier while I slept an hour longer than I normally did. He would, get ready before taking care of the twins while I was getting ready. We'd eat breakfast together before I took them to Esme's house. In the afternoons, Jasper would pick them up, unless he had something that required him to stay after school was dismissed. If that was the case then I would get them.

He would then get them fed before I came in from work and then we'd figure out dinner for ourselves. Jasper couldn't cook so that would be my job once I got home or I would bring takeout.

We would alternate giving them baths and putting them to bed which meant if I gave them their baths, Jasper would put them down for the night and vice versa. If the twins woke up at night we'd also alternate getting up with them.

"I think we can make this work, Jasper," I said once we'd finished going over everything.

"I think we can too, Bella." He agreed with a smile.

I returned it, feeling like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. As long as we worked together and talked things out when needed, we were going to be just fine.

**-TG-**

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**Up Next: We skip ahead a few weeks and Peter and Charlotte come to visit. **


	12. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: ****Yeah I don't own it. I just like to turn all of them human and have my fun with them. **

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**-TG-**_**  
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_**Jasper**_

Things were good. Things were really good. It has been almost a month since Bella came home from the hospital, and once the dust had settled after the Maria fiasco, Bella and I finally sat down and worked out a routine for the twins. While we've had to tweak the original plan a little, we'd now settled nicely into every day life.

Bella and I got up at the same time. She would get the twins up and ready while I showered and got myself ready. Then I would take over, feeding them while she got ready. Bella would then take them to Esme in the mornings, and I would pick them up in the evenings. I would give them a small snack while we waited for Bella to come home and then we would all have dinner together. Once we'd all finish eating, I'd clean up the kitchen and Bella would bathe them before we'd both put them to bed. We would alternate getting up through the night if it was needed.

Aiden and Kinsley were both thriving it seemed, especially now that things at home were falling into place. They both started sleeping longer at night, allowing us to get hours of sleep at a time. They ate with their fingers and babbled constantly. It was like they talked and understood each other in a way no one else could, even giggling like crazy sometimes. They'd started to pull up on their own, using the coffee table or couch for support, but they were only able to stand for a few seconds at a time before they were back on the floor.

Watching them left me with such a good feeling and I'm thankful everyday that I had pulled my head out of my ass when I did. If I'd missed all of this then I would've never forgiven myself. Bella and the others wouldn't have either and I would have ended up missing out on what's to come.

Bella and I were getting along so much better too. Most nights after we had put the kids down to sleep, we would then spend our time together in the living room. We would sometimes watch TV or we would read. She had gotten me hooked on a show called Bridezillas-not that I would ever admit that to anyone. A lot of the time though, we would just spend the night talking and laughing.

Bella was hilarious and had this sense of humor that I don't think many people knew about. And her smile, God, her smile was contagious as hell. It was like no matter how bad a day I had at work-especially if the kids had decided to be complete brats-or if the twins were fussy, as soon as Bella walked in the door, with that infectious smile she always seemed to have now, things were automatically better.

I grinned just thinking about her smile before turning my head to the noise coming from behind me out in the hallway. Moving toward it, I saw Bella coming out of the nursery carrying Kinsley. I quickly pulled on the t-shirt I'd forgotten was in my hand and went to help her.

"You about ready?" she asked when she saw me walking over to her.

"Yep, you and the twins good?" I asked moving around her so I could go and get Aiden.

"I just need to finish packing the diaper bag and then we will be. What time is their flight coming in again?"

Checking my watch as I walked out of the nursery, I answered, "About an hour."

She nodded that she'd heard and then started down the stairs as I followed behind her, smiling at the excitement I knew she was feeling. Especially because I shared it too. Peter and Charlotte were coming to visit for a week and I was more than looking forward to it. Even though it had only been a few months since the last time I'd seen them, I had never gone that long before and I missed them.

Since I was on Spring Break, I would have plenty of time to enjoy their visit. Bella had standing appointments for tomorrow, Tuesday, and Wednesday but she'd made sure not to schedule anything the rest of the week. We had plans to take the kids to the zoo along with Rose, Emmett, and their son, Andrew, on Thursday, plus whatever else we could think of to do as a family on Friday and Saturday.

"Okay, we are ready to go," Bella said, coming back out of the kitchen with the diaper bag slung over her shoulder. I automatically reached out for it, sliding it off her shoulder and putting it up on mine. She gave me a small smile in gratitude before blushing, saying a quiet thanks, and heading toward the front door.

I chuckled quietly and followed behind her again, grabbing my keys off the hook by the door. After locking up, I headed around to the driver's side of my truck and settled Aiden into his seat while Bella did the same with Kinsley on the passenger side. Peter and Charlotte were renting a car, but we all had plans to go to dinner together later on. So it was easier to just meet them and then we could eat while we were out.

Once the twins were secure, Bella and I climbed into the front and I started the truck and pulled out of the driveway. We didn't talk much on the way to the airport, but the silence wasn't uncomfortable. We spent most of it laughing quietly as the twins babbled back and forth in their own little conversation. They were so vocal now that I wondered what it would be like when they could actually speak words.

We made it to the airport with about twenty minutes to spare before Peter and Charlotte's plane landed. Bella and I found a spot near baggage claim to wait and then spent the minutes waiting for Peter and Charlotte by saying thank you over and over again, since people walking by decided to voice how adorable Kinsley and Aiden were. They didn't help matters because they were cute, but when they grinned it just made them more so and they grinned at everyone it seemed.

"They are both complete flirts," Bella said laughing as, what seemed like, the twentieth person gave an acknowledgment of them and the twins had giggled at the older woman

"Yes," I said chuckling. "It's definitely an inheritance. I mean, come on, their parents were two of the biggest flirts I knew."

"That's true," she said, her voice holding a tinge of sadness in it. When she looked over at me, I found that same emotion playing behind her eyes.

I didn't like it at all. "You do know what that means right?" I asked, hoping to cheer her up with my next statement.

"What?"

"That we are in so much trouble when they reach dating age."

My words had the desired effect as amusement appeared on Bella's face in the form of a smile and she laughed as she nodded her head in agreement before she said, "They are never dating."

I laughed and shook my head. As I went to reply, I was interrupted my another voice.

"Well, well...look at that nice little picture right there." Bella and I grinned before we turned our heads and found Peter and Charlotte standing a few feet away.

We stood immediately, quickly moving toward them.

"Hey guys!" Bella said, giving each of them a one-armed hug as did I once she stepped back. "How was your flight?"

"Uneventful," Peter answered as he held out his hands for Kinsley who went to him without a fight.

Aiden did the same with Charlotte when she reached for him. "They've grown so much since the last time we saw them," Charlotte said, bouncing Aiden a little and making him giggle.

"I know," Bella said, smiling as she watching them.

Peter was too busy making funny faces at Kinsley to even acknowledge the conversation. I just stared at him until he looked up at me and asked, "What?"

"Nothing," I said, shaking my head. "Let's go get your bags."

"We only have one," Charlotte said.

"Why don't you and Bella grab it while Jasper and I take car of the rental car," Peter suggested.

"We can do that," Charlotte replied after glancing over at Bella.

I reached over and took Kinsley from her and then she linked an arm through Bella's, walking off toward the bag return they needed.

"So, things still good between the two of you?" Peter asked once we'd started for the rental car counter.

"Yeah, why wouldn't they be?"

"No reason, just wanted to make sure I didn't have to kick your ass."

"Language," I hissed, causing Peter to let loose a laugh that scared Kinsley.

She started to cry and I reached for her, handing off Aiden to Peter. I held Kinsley close, rocking her slightly until her cries had quieted.

"Sorry about that." Peter said, still trying to fight a smile. "I just never thought I'd hear you get on to me about something I said."

"It's fine." I said. "You just startled her. She's all good now, aren't you sweetheart?" My words to Kinsley earned me a smile and then I glanced up, finding Peter staring at me. "What?"

""Nothing, little brother," he answered. "Absolutely nothing."

I gave him a skeptical look, but brushed off his words as we made it to the rental car counter. I took Aiden back, holding both of the twins as he did what he needed to do. Once he was finished and had the keys in hand we headed off to find Bella and Charlotte.

When we found them they already had the bag and were waiting. Bella relieved me of Kinsley, looking at me in question when she saw her still wet cheeks.

"Peter scared her by accident," I explained.

She gave Peter a stern look, but smiled to show she wasn't mad and then turned back to me. "Charlotte and I decided we wanted pizza for dinner."

"Okay," I complied, thinking that, that did sound really good; we hadn't had pizza in a few weeks.

"Is that alright with you, Peter?" I asked.

"Yep," he answered before asking, "Where are we going to meet once we get out of the airport? Charlotte and I do need to follow you."

I thought a minute before glancing over at Bella. "How about Peter and I take the twins, in my truck, back to the house while you and Charlotte go grab dinner in the rental?"

"That works for me," Bella said, and Charlotte nodded her agreement.

Peter gave Charlotte the keys, Bella gave him Kinsley, and me the diaper bag.

As Peter gave Charlotte a kiss Bella asked, "Is there anything specific you want?"

"Garlic bread."

"Anything else?" she asked.

"Not that I can think of. Do you need money?"

"Got it covered," she said with a smile that I returned. We both looked over at Peter and Charlotte then and found them staring at us.

"What?" I asked, wondering why Peter was doing it again.

"Nothing," he answered grinning.

I rolled my eyes and glanced back at Bella. "Be careful."

"We will," she said as she leaned over giving Aiden a kiss on the cheek.

She did the same to Kinsley before Charlotte and her headed off to where the cars were picked up. Peter and I turned the other way, leaving the airport through the main door. We made it to my truck quickly, and got the twins settled inside before I drove us back to the house. While we waited for Bella and Charlotte to get there, I showed Peter where he and Charlotte would be sleeping and then I went ahead and fed the twins as well as bathed them.

When the girls walked in the back door a little bit later, we were in the living room watching them crawl around. I stood, picking up Kinsley-Peter did the same with Aiden-and walked to kitchen. My eyes fell immediately on the island and I couldn't help the sound of disbelief that escaped me.

"Did you buy out the restaurant?" I asked at the amount of food Bella had gotten.

She laughed and shook her head. "No and it's not that much."

I eyed the five different Padrino's boxes, plus two other containers and a bag before I questioned, "Not that much? Half of those are empty then?"

She rolled her eyes and moved over to the cabinet that held the plates. "I couldn't decide. Plus, I figured what we didn't eat tonight, you and Peter could have tomorrow for lunch."

"What about Charlotte?" I asked as I set Kinsley in her high chair. I motioned Peter to do the same with Aiden and then I put some Cheerios and mini marshmallows on their tray to keep them occupied.

"She's going to work with me." Bella answered as she shot me a grin over her shoulder.

"Why am I not surprised about that?" I asked, looking between the two of them. They both shrugged their shoulders and started to open all the boxes.

"Okay, I got the Bruschetta Pizza, the Italy Pizza, and the Meat Lover's. I also got your garlic bread, cheese bread, Tiramisu, chocolate mousse cake, and a two six-packs of soda."

"Thanks, Beautiful," Peter said, kissing Bella's cheek before grabbing a plate.

Bella, Charlotte and I did the same, filling them with food before we all settled at the table. As we ate we talked about whatever came up. We had talked on the phone enough that there wasn't anything to really catch up on, so it was just light and easy conversation.

Once we'd all eaten more than we should have, we cleaned up quickly and then Bella and I put the twins to bed. After they were changed and down for the night, Bella and I went back to the living room and the four of us watched a movie before we all headed to bed.

The next three days passed quickly. The twins kept Peter and I busy throughout the day while Charlotte was with Bella at work. Our evenings were spent laughing and talking as we watched the twins play and roll around.

It was just after dinner on Wednesday night when Rose called and asked what time we wanted to meet at the zoo the next morning. After deciding that 10 was a good time, we hung up. Bella and I put the twins to bed like we always did and then watched a few hours of TV with Charlotte and Peter. It was around 11 when the three of them went on to bed; I decided to stay in the living room, not completely tired yet.

Once they'd all disappeared up the stairs I grabbed the remote and pulled up the DVR list, putting it on the the first of two episodes of Bridezillas I still needed to watch.

I'd been watching it for probably 10 minutes and so engrossed in the craziness that I didn't hear anyone coming back down stairs until, "What the hell are you watching?"

Jumping, I glanced over at the doorway and found Peter with his arm's crossed, looking at me with a grin.

"Ummm...nothing," I said, trying to find where I'd put the remote and giving up when the damn thing seemed to have vanished into thin air.

"Doesn't look like nothing," he said in a teasing tone before coming over and dropping down beside me on the couch.

"It's Bella's fault."

"Really? Did she sit on you and force you to watch? Or did she threaten you before we went upstairs?" he asked. I could tell he was trying very hard not to laugh and was about to fail miserably.

Knowing that there was no way to get out of this I just said, "No."

"That's what I thought," he said finally letting out the laugh he'd been holding in. I sat watching him in annoyance while he calmed himself down. When he did, his next words left me staring at him in shock. "I will tell you one thing though, if Charlotte had acted like those crazy women I'd have left her ass at the altar."

When he realized that I wasn't going to say anything in return he glanced over at me. "What? Shit is addictive, little brother, and Bella isn't the only girl you know who watches it."

I let out a laugh and shook my head, but didn't say anything in return, instead I just sat back on the couch. Peter and I finished that episode and watched the next one before we both went up to bed. As I got comfortable I had to laugh again. If someone had told me six months ago that I would have spent a night watching a show about weddings with my brother, I'd have thought they'd been smoking crack, but now...Now it was a part of my life; a life I know knew I wouldn't change for anything.

**-TG-**

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**Padrino's is a real pizza place in Seattle.  
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**Next up: The rest of Peter and Charlotte's visit; consisting of a trip to the zoo, a night out without the kids, and a special POV.**


	13. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: ****Yeah I don't own it. I just like to turn all of them human and have my fun with them. **

**A huge thanks to Twilightobsessed09 for making the chapter so pretty. If you haven't read her stuff you need to go do that.  
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********Still have the facebook group for my stories as well as the blog. Link for the group is on my profile. There is also a link for a new Twilight Non-Canon group. If you want to join click on the link and request entry. Remember though it is strictly for NON-CANON discussions and stories.********

********-TG-********_********  
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_**Peter**_

Being Jasper's older brother automatically gives me the right to give him shit. It should be a law or something since I'm wiser, better looking, and funnier. I tormented him constantly when we were little; stealing his toys, stealing the remote for the TV, and doing anything else I could think of. He took the ribbing like any little brother would have, he'd yell or try and punch me. And when those failed, which they usually did, he'd run to mama.

As we got older the teasing revolved around the girls he liked and dated. I never had an issue telling him what I thought about them or telling him what to do to keep them if I happened to like them, which wasn't often. Maria being the main one I hated and thank god she was fucking gone.

However, with the girl he wants now-who I absolutely adore-I can't voice my thoughts about, since he has no damn clue how much he wants her and saying anything would just scare him off.

Bella is everything I could ever want for Jasper. She's smart, kind, funny, gorgeous as hell, and Charlotte loved her. If our mom was still alive she would have fallen in love with Bella from the beginning and smacked Jasper around until he saw what everyone else did. Hell, she'd even have to smack Bella since the girl was just as clueless as Jasper was.

How they hadn't seen it yet, is beyond me. Charlotte and I saw the attraction between the two of them as soon as we walked up on them at the airport. And every day since we've been here has only confirmed it.

It's pretty hilarious to watch them. Neither one realized how often they mentioned the other, or how they seem to gravitate toward each other when they are in the same room. Or even how often they touched, or...God, I could keeping going, but it's kind of sickening now that I think about it.

Yesterday at the zoo had been a prime example of how unobservant they were. Rose, Emmett, Charlotte, and I had watched in amusement as they walked around with the twins and Andrew, who constantly stayed by their side. They looked like the perfect little family and about halfway through the zoo, the four of us just stood back watching while deciding to bet on when things would come out.

Emmett gave it a week to which the rest of us shot down immediately, but he stuck with it. Charlotte went with a month. Rose and I went with longer and she added to her's saying they would sleep together again before the big reveal. Of course, that statement led to me asking how she-and by extension Emmett-knew about the "again" part.

Needless to say, Charlotte and I had listened in shocked silence as she whispered about how not only did they know, but Alice and Edward had known too. She told us how the four of them had seen them at the wedding trying to sneak away. Unfortunately for Bella and Jasper, their disappearing act wasn't as subtle as they had assumed in their drunken haze. Rose and Emmett had followed behind them and after realizing what they were doing in the mens' bathroom they'd stood guard.

The four of us had a good laugh as Rose told us how Emmett would turn anyone away who came to use the restroom. And how she had yet to figure out why Bella and Jasper hadn't questioned why they had 45 minutes of uninterrupted time.

When she was finished telling us everything, I had to ask why they never told the two clueless wonders that they knew. Rose's response had been that they had initially had every intention to give them crap about it. However, once Jasper and Bella appeared, looking like they'd just done something completely illegal, they'd let them be; figuring it would come out eventually. And then Rose said that that had backfired. Of course, then that led into how Charlotte and I knew about what happened at the wedding.

When we told them that both Jasper and Bella had slipped and told us, Rose and Emmett laughed loud enough to draw their attention to us. Thankfully, Rose did some quick thinking and said I'd made a comment about the elephants. All I'd gotten was a look from Jasper, since I'm sure he assumed that my supposed comment had been dirty, and we'd gone about the rest of our day without him or Bella questioning it.

That night at dinner after our exciting and revealing day at the zoo, we decided that we'd all go out dancing tonight. The girls had gone shopping earlier today, while Jasper, Emmett, and I stayed home with the kids.

They had gotten back about three hours ago and with a quick kiss to the twins and Andrew they'd locked themselves upstairs to get ready. The guys and I had already taken the kids over to Esme and Carlisle's house, gotten back, and changed since then. Now we were all standing around the kitchen island, having a beer while we waited for them to finish getting dressed.

My back was to the doorway, but even if I hadn't heard the girls coming down the stairs I would have known the exact moment they appeared.

Emmett let out a very unmanly sound, but his wasn't the reaction I found the funniest. It was Jasper who simultaneously choked on a mouthful of beer and dropped his bottle, breaking it against the counter, that took the cake.

I was chuckling as I turned around only to drop my own damn bottle. The girls looked like pure fucking sin.

All of them were in heels that made their legs go on for days and dresses that barely covered their asses. Charlotte was in purple and silver, Rose was in black, and Bella was in red. The three of us guys were going to end up in jail tonight. That's the only thing that would come from them leaving the house looking like they did, but fuck if I also didn't want to show them off.

"You boys okay?" Rose asked when we still hadn't said anything after a few minutes.

I nodded earning a wink from Charlotte. Emmett must have nodded as well because Rose did the same thing, but Bella was looking over my other shoulder.

"You okay there, Jasper?" Charlotte asked, fighting a smile.

I glanced back and had to bite my cheek to keep from laughing. Jasper was completely out of it. His hands were gripping the counter top so tight his knuckle were white. His eyes were wide and trained on Bella or her legs as the case may be. His mouth was hanging open, and if he didn't close it soon, he was going to have to change with all the drool that was bound to get on him.

I looked over to see what Bella was doing and found her gone from where she'd been. Before I could ask she reappeared with a towel and moved around me, reaching to clean up Jasper's beer.

While it would have been gentlemanly to offer to do it for her, since Jasper was making no move to do so, there was no way I was going to step anywhere near what was happening before my eyes.

I backed up slowly, stopping when I got beside Charlotte. Emmett had already moved over to Rose and the four of us just watched the entertainment unfold.

Bella was completely oblivious to the fact that Jasper couldn't take his eyes off of her. Every time she moved, he followed her, turning his head slowly if he had too. His hands never lost the hold they had on the island and I swear if he didn't let up he was going to break the damn thing soon.

Bella continued to work around him, getting the broom and sweeping the glass-from my bottle as well-into a pile once she had the beer wiped up. She squatted down to push it all in the dust pan and as she went to stand Jasper finally moved, reaching a hand out to help her up.

She looked up at him and smiled, placing her hand in his. He held on as she slowly rose, dragging her body against his the entire time. Hell, even I got turned on watching them. It was foreplay in its finest form and any minute you'd think they would go at it on the kitchen counter. Unfortunately, they just smiled and let go of each other like it was nothing; it was really quite sad.

The four of us stood there staring until the two of them turned-after Bella put up the dustpan-and looked at us.

"What?" Jasper asked.

I didn't answer him, instead I turned to the other three and asked, "Seriously?"

Emmett, Rose, and Charlotte cracked up and I just shook my head because really, how fucking dense could they be?

When I glanced over at them they were standing in the exact same position, arms crossed and head cocked to the side, watching us with narrowed eyes.

"What the hell is wrong with you four?" Jasper asked.

I debated for a moment to just tell them what was going on, but Charlotte stopped me when she answered, "While it would be easier just to spell it out for you, watching it is just so much more fun."

"Spell what out?" Jasper asked, getting frustrated.

"You'll figure it out soon," Rose said, grinning.

"Do you know what they're talking about?" Jasper asked, looking over at Bella.

She just shook her head, causing him to huff in annoyance.

"Fine, since no one is going to enlighten me to your cryptic shit, can we go?" he asked, motioning around with his hands.

"Sure," I said as I held out my arm to Charlotte. "Shall we, beautiful?"

She winked at me and slipped her arm through mine. We turned around and headed toward the front door, pulling it open and walking outside. The other four followed us out and Jasper quickly locked the door before we climbed into Emmett's suburban. Jasper and Bella were in the very back and I could hear them whispering quietly to each other, but couldn't make out the words. I didn't dare turn around, since Jasper's early frustration would probably rear its ugly head and I'd end up spilling the beans.

It took us about 20 minutes to make it into downtown Seattle and find a small restaurant to grab a quick dinner. Once we'd finished eating, Emmett drove around until we found a club. He had to park about five blocks away, but since we were with the girls it didn't really matter.

The six of us walked down to the club, getting inside quickly. The girls immediately told us what they wanted to drink and then headed off to find a table while me and the other two went to the bar.

After getting the drinks, we found the girls and slid into the booth beside them. They took two sips of their drinks before they pushed us out of the way so they could go dance.

The three of us sat talking and watching them, making sure no guy got too close. They came back to the table after three songs, drank down their drinks and went back to dancing. We ordered them another round and as they were being set on the table Rose and Charlotte came back to the table.

"Where is Bella?" Jasper asked, glancing around.

"Dancing," Charlotte replied way too innocently as she pointed Bella out.

I only just managed to turn my laugh into a cough when we saw her dancing with some guy and Jasper let out a growl. His hand tightened around his beer bottle and I reached over, taking it away before he broke it. His eyes stayed locked on Bella and I knew if the guy so much as touched her, Jasper was going to hurt him. I could see it in the tense way he was holding himself, like he was waiting to attack.

The song finally ended and thankfully, Bella turned from the guy and headed for our table. Jasper continued to watch her as she slid into the booth and picked up her drink. He raised his hand and only then realized there was nothing in it.

"Where the hell is my beer?" he asked, glancing around.

"Right here," I said, sliding it back in front of him.

"What did you do to it?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at me.

I chuckled. "Nothing, I swear."

He didn't look like he believed me so I grabbed his beer back and took a drink of it. "See?" I asked after I'd swallowed it.

He still didn't look convinced, but grabbed the bottle from my hand and took a long drink anyway.

A new song started and I saw the guy that had danced with Bella at the same time Jasper did, coming toward our table.

"Do you want to dance?" Jasper asked, looking at Bella.

She smiled and nodded, sliding out of the booth and waiting for him to do the same. As soon as he was standing he took her hand leading her toward the dance floor, throwing a smirk at the other guy. He watched them for a second before finding some other girl to dance with, which was a very good thing.

"What song is this?" I asked.

"Love Faces by Trey Songz." Rose answered never moving her eyes from Bella and Jasper who had started to dance very, very closely.

Her back was to his chest, his hands were on her hips, and one of her hands was up around the back of his neck.

"Do you think they'll ever figure it out?" Emmett asked.

"They will, it will just take a little time since neither one are looking for or expecting it to happen. They're getting there though," Charlotte replied before we fell silent.

We watched them through the song and through the next one. When the third song started and they stayed on the floor, the rest of us got up to dance as well.

For the rest of the night we alternated between dancing and sitting at the table to drink and talk. Bella never danced with someone that wasn't part of our group. Jasper made sure of it. Every time he saw a guy heading toward our table he'd pull Bella up and out to the dance floor. If the girls were dancing and someone started toward them he'd be out there behind Bella, staking his claim before they had a chance to get near her.

It was even more hilarious to watch, and luckily, Bella and Jasper never questioned us. I'm convinced that that was due to the copious amounts of alcohol, five of us had consumed.

By the time the bar closed and we were moving through the door to go home, Emmett was the only one sober; he'd stopped drinking after his second beer about three hours ago.

As we all walked or stumbled along Bella and Jasper were ahead of the rest of us. She was using him for quite a bit of support, being a little drunker than he was. She made it three blocks before tripping and she would have face planted if he hadn't reacted quickly. His hands caught her before she hit the ground and he swept her up into his arms, continuing on without a thought.

I watched her wrap her arms around his shoulders and bury her head into his neck. The only words that processed in my alcohol-fogged mind was what Charlotte had said earlier.

They were definitely getting there.

**-TG- **

**Well, how was it? Review and let me know. **

**Girls' outfits and a video for the first song Jasper and Bella danced to on my blog and facebook group. **

**Up next: Time alone at home for our two clueless wonders. **


	14. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: Yeah I don't own it. I just like to turn all of them human and have my fun with them.**

**A huge thanks to Twilightobsessed09 for making the chapter so pretty.**

**The wonderful christag_banner made me a beautiful banner. Link is on my profile.**

**Still have the facebook group for my stories as well as the blog. Link for the group is on my profile. There is also a link for a new Twilight Non-Canon group. If you want to join click on the link and request entry. Remember though it is strictly for NON-CANON discussions and stories.**

** I also have a poll in my group of the stories I have waiting in the wings. If you haven't voted, for what you want to read next, yet please do so-choose two J/B and one non J/B. The summaries for them are in my docs. If you aren't part of the group just send a request. The poll will be up until I update Observations again. I will be putting up another poll on my profile then and it will be up for two updates of each of my stories. I'll then add the votes together. :D And yes you can vote again for different ones then. :D I'm a masocist.  
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**Now, on to the chapter.**

**-TG-**

_**Bella**_

Growing up, I always heard adult talk about how time goes by so fast when you have kids. I always scoffed at the saying while thinking how could time move faster? But now I know. It seemed like only yesterday that we were picking up Peter and Charlotte from the airport for their visit during Jasper's spring break, and now we were a week away from him being finished for the summer. And a month and a half away from the twins' first birthday.

I was worried that it wouldn't be the happy affair it should be, but knowing that Alice and Edward would have wanted us to celebrate, we had to do something special.

Jasper and I needed to sit down soon and figure out what we were going to do, as well as, figure out what we were going to get them.

I could only hope it wouldn't turn out like Mother's Day a few weeks ago though. The day had had a somber feel to it as soon as I'd woken up, and it only got worse the later it got in the day. By the time I'd gone to bed that night, I was surprised my eyes weren't permanently closed from all the crying I'd done.

The tears had started when we'd gone to the cemetery to place flowers on Alice's grave before we'd gone to Esme and Carlisle's for a late lunch. After lunch we'd given Esme her gifts. From the twins, I'd done one of their handprints and footprints in clay with the date I'd made them and their names on it; I'd then framed it. From me and Jasper, I'd found a charm bracelet and put 9 doll charms on it; larger ones for the adults and smaller ones for the kids. Each one had the birthstone as the dress or shirt. I was going to do just 7, but then at the last minute I'd decided to put mine and Jasper's on there with the others, since I was sure Esme would have gotten upset if I hadn't. Sure enough she counted and then gave me a smile as tears streamed down her face.

That had started me crying again, along with Rose and then Esme had handed me a gift from her and Carlisle. When I'd opened the envelope I'd found a gift certificate for a spa day. I'd openly sobbed when Esme said every mom needed a little pampering every now and then. I continued to cry up until we left soon after and only managed to calm down a bit on the drive home. However, the tears came back full force when I saw what Jasper had done.

I'd ran upstairs to clean up a little and when I came back down, I found him and the twins waiting in the living room. In his hands, were a bouquet of flowers, a card with crayon scribbles inside, and a small box that held a necklace with two silver charms on it. Each charm was etched with one of the twins names. It had set the crying off again and it took me an hour before I could even say thank you.

I still couldn't help but get a little teary eyed now when I thought about it, but I also couldn't help smile a little as well. Reaching up, I pulled on the necklace, I hadn't taken off since that night, and looking at the inscription of their names.

My cell rang, drawing a sigh from me and I let go of the necklace allowing it to fall against my chest as I reached for my phone. Checking the caller ID, I quickly answered.

"Esme, is everything okay?"

_"Oh, yes dear. I just needed to ask you something."_

"Oh, okay. What is it?"

_"Well, some friends of mine and Carlisle's called this morning and are going to be coming through Seattle tomorrow. They wanted to meet the twins and I was wondering if they could just stay the weekend with us?"_

"Of course, you know you don't ever have to ask. Just tell us not to come get them."

Esme laughed and said, _"Yes, I thought I'd be nice though and I didn't know if you had any plans yourself."_

"Oh no, and actually it's kind of perfect. I was just thinking that Jasper and I needed to sit down and talk about their birthday. I might even use my spa gift certificate tomorrow if I can get an appointment."

_"Please do. I know you've been busy with graduation coming up and all the seniors wanting pictures done,"_ she said. _"And then you'll be busy with all the brides."_

"Yes," I agreed. "I'll call them when I hang up with you. When do you want me to come get the twins?"

_"Don't worry about that. Carlisle and I will bring them home Sunday evening and we'll also bring dinner so don't worry about cooking."_

"Okay, thank you."

_"You're welcome, dear. Will you call Jasper and let him know not to pick them up tonight or would you like me too?"_ she asked.

"Actually, he has a meeting tonight about the music for graduation so I was going to get them."

_"That's perfect then."_

The bell out front rang, alerting me that someone was walking in. "Esme, my next appointment is here, so I need to run. Call me if you need me."

_"I will, dear, and don't forget to make an appointment for yourself."_

"I won't."

_"All right, sweetheart. You have a good weekend and I'll see you Sunday."_

"See you Sunday," I said and then we disconnected the call. After putting my phone down, I stood and smoothed down my outfit before heading back to work.

I kept busy the rest of the day, but did manage to get in a call to the spa, making an appointment that started at nine the next morning. After I closed up the studio, I stopped off for pizza and headed home.

Once there, I sat the pizza down and ran upstairs to change. As I walked back into the kitchen Jasper opened the back door and stepped through.

"Hey," he said with a smile when he saw me.

"Hey, how was your day?" I asked moving over to get plates out of the cabinet.

"It was good. I'll be so glad when next week is over though."

"Are the kids that bad?"

He groaned and said, "You have no idea. It's like they drink a few Red Bulls and snort some pixie sticks before coming to class."

I laughed as I opened the lid of the pizza box and he asked, "Speaking of kids, where are the twins?"

"They're staying over at Esme and Carlisle's for the weekend. They have friends coming into town that wanted to meet them."

"Oh, okay," he said.

I gave him a smile over my shoulder and then asked, "You want some pizza?"

"Sure, let me run and change first."

I nodded and he headed out of the kitchen. While he was gone I plated up a few slices and grabbed a beer out of the fridge for him; for myself, I decided that a glass of wine would be good.

I had everything on the table by the time he got back downstairs and we settled across from each other.

After taking a few bites, I brought up the subject of the twins' birthday. "Aiden and Kinsley's birthday is coming up soon."

"I know," he said, shaking his head. "It's hard to believe they'll be a year old."

"I know," I said with a sigh. "We need to figure out what we want to do for them and also what we want to get them."

"What do you think we should do?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't think we should do anything too big. Maybe dinner and cake."

He nodded, but was quiet for a few minutes before he asked, "What about a cookout?"

I thought about it for a second and then grinned. "That's a great idea. We could have hamburgers, hot dogs, some sides and then cakes and ice cream for dessert."

"Cakes?" he asked, looking perplexed.

"Yes, one small one for each of the twins and another one for the adults."

"Why small ones?"

"So, they can play in them."

"Why would they do that?"

I laughed. "It's just something that is done. You should have seen Andrew on his first birthday. He made a complete mess and loved every minute of it. Rose complained for a week that she kept finding icing in obscure places every time she gave him a bath."

Jasper chuckled at my words and then said, "Okay, so a small cake for each of them."

I nodded and then said, "Good, now we just need to figure out what day to have it on."

Jasper wiped his hands and stood up, moving over to the year-long calendar we had on the fridge. "Their birthday is on the 15th and that's a Sunday this year."

"That works perfectly," I said, nodding. "I'll order the cakes tomorrow then while I'm out."

"You're going out tomorrow?" he asked as he sat back down.

"Yeah, I have an appointment to use the gift certificate Esme and Carlisle gave me."

"Oh, okay."

"You want to come to? You could get a massage."

His eyebrows rose and he quickly shook his head as he said, "I think I'll pass. Do some man stuff around here instead."

I choked on the bite of pizza I had in my mouth. "And what would this man stuff entail?"

He shrugged, "Mowing the lawn, watching sports, washing my truck. You know, man stuff."

I laughed and said, "You do that then. I'll go do the girl stuff."

He grinned and we fell into silence as we both finished up our dinner. After cleaning up, we headed into the living room and watched TV until we both went off to bed.

The next morning I was up and out of the house before Jasper even woke up. I left a note reminding him where I'd gone and spent all morning and some of the afternoon being pampered. I ended up getting a massage, facial, and waxing with the gift certificate and then splurged on a manicure and pedicure as well. By the time I left at 3, I was so relaxed it wasn't even funny.

From the spa, I drove over to a bakery I'd heard some of my bridal clients rave about and ordered the cakes for the twins' birthday. Each of the small ones were vanilla and would look like an alphabet block. Kinsley's was going to be in pink with a 1 on each side and a K on the top. Aiden's was going to be in blue with a 1 on the sides and an A on top. For the adults and Andrew, I changed my mind on a cake and instead went with gourmet cupcakes in different flavors. After I put the deposit down and gave all my information, I left the bakery and stopped by the grocery store. While at the spa I'd gotten an idea for dinner and needed to pick up the things necessary to make it.

Once I returned to the house, I grabbed the grocery bags and walked in the back door just as Jasper was heading out of the kitchen. He turned, hearing me and then quickly set his drink down to help with the bags.

"Did you have a good day?" he asked as we started to unpack everything.

"Oh, god yes," I answered with a sigh. "I might have to do that at least once a month from now on."

Jasper chuckled. "Did you get the cakes ordered?"

"Yep. They're going to be so cute. I can't wait for you to see them."

He smiled and pulled out a box of shells from the bag. "We're having tacos?" he asked, getting really excited for some reason.

"Yes," I said, laughing at the gleeful expression on his face. "I take it that's a good thing."

"A very good thing. I haven't had tacos in forever. What made you decide to have them?"

"I was looking at a magazine while I waited for one of my services and there was an advertisement for taco sauce. The taco it was on looked really good."

He grinned and spread everything out on the island, looking at the ingredients as if they're gold bars laid before him.

"Do you want to help?" I asked as I started to pull out the pans I needed.

"Sure, what can I do?"

I set him up with cutting up the tomatoes, green onions, and cilantro as well as shredding the lettuce and cheese. As he did that, I started browning the hamburger meat. While we worked we talked about what he did all day and I had to laugh when I found out it did involve every bit of the guy stuff he'd said the night before.

When everything was ready we put it all on the island, piled our plates full, and sat down at the table with a beer.

I waited for him to take the first bite and wasn't disappointed when he let out a groan. "So good," he mumbled through the mouthful, causing me to laugh.

He grinned unashamed and went back to devouring his dinner. I picked up my first taco and bit back my own groan as I took a bite. It really was good. I finished three before I was done and then I sat back and watched Jasper put one after the other away. By the time he was wiping his mouth and pushing his plate away, I was staring at him in shock.

"What?" he asked when he caught me looking.

"You just ate 9 tacos, in one sitting," I said, wondering how he wasn't running off to the bathroom. I was about ready to burst with just my three.

He shrugged his shoulders as he said, "They were good."

I laughed and pushed myself up from the table. He started to stand and I pressed him back into his chair, with a hand to his shoulder. "I'll clean, you sit there and digest. I don't need you to throw up."

"I'm not going to throw up," he said, but settled back in the chair as I set to work. It didn't take long to get the mess cleaned up and the leftovers put away.

When I was finished, I grabbed two more beers out of the fridge and we headed into the living room, putting in the first Transformers movie and settling on the couch to watch; Jasper on one side and me on the other.

It wasn't even fifteen minutes into the movie when I looked over and, not surprisingly, found Jasper sound asleep. I chuckled as I reached over and took the beer bottle from his hand, not wanting him to accidentally drop it. I decided to leave him until the movie was over and settled back on my side.

Finishing my beer and setting the empty bottle on the coffee table was the last thing I remembered until I opened my eyes some time later. I lifted my head confused and not knowing how long I'd been asleep. The movie had ending at some point as it was back on the title screen, it was pitch black outside, and I could hear rain beating against the window. It wasn't until I felt a movement under me that I realized the position I was in. I didn't move any part of my body, except my eyes, until I was able to take stock of everything.

At some point, Jasper had stretched out completely on the couch, his head was pillowed by the armrest. I had stretched out as well, lying half beside him and half on top of him with my head on his chest. One of my arms had snaked around behind his neck while the other was laying beside my head. One of his arms was wrapped tightly around my waist and the other was off the couch.

Now, how was I going to get out of this?

After a few minutes I sucked in a deep breath and started to separate myself from him. Moving slowly, I drew my arm out from under his head. When I was clear, I paused to make sure he was still asleep before moving again. Placing the hand, I'd just freed on the armrest beside his head, I started to push myself up. I didn't make it far before his arm tightened even tighter around me and pulled me back down on top of him.

Shocked at the sudden movement, I didn't catch myself in time, landed hard against him, and all the air I'd been holding left me in a rush. Jasper's eyes opened immediately and our gazes locked. My face was only inches from his, but neither one of us seemed to care. We stared at each other for what seemed like forever and the small distance between us closing centimeter by centimeter with every second that passed. I couldn't seem to get up nor could I find the want in me to do so.

I was so close I could see his pupils dilate and feel the warm air of his breath as he breathed in and out. The arm that was off the couch came up and clamped around the back of my neck, holding me in place.

We were so close, only a sheet of paper could have gotten between us. When he opened his mouth and whispered my name I felt the slight brush of his lips against mine and my eyes closed waiting for the moment that I knew was coming.

Just when I thought he was going to press his mouth fully against mine a loud clap of thunder-enough to rattle the windows-had me flying up off the sofa and to the doorway of the living room like I'd been tazed.

I found myself struggling to catch my breath and Jasper didn't seem to be fairing much better as he sat up.

He looked over at me, but quickly averted his eyes. I was doing all I could not to look at him and knew I need to get out of there.

"Ummm..." I started, trailing off when he jumped and brought his eyes to me. "I'm going to bed," I said after a moment and at his nod I turned and fled toward the safety of my room.

I could feel his eyes on me as I ran up the stairs and didn't breathe again until my bedroom door was shut and I was leaning back against it.

The only thought that seemed to run though my mind was-_What the hell had just happened?_

**-TG-**

***nods head* Yes, I just cock-blocked you or kiss-blocked you...whatever. Yell at me if you must, but...**

**Up next...what you want. So don't yell too loud or I'll do it again. *grins evilly***


	15. Sorry

Hey guys.

Sorry, for the fake out.

Working on the next chapter of Their Mistakes now and almost done so it should post soon. However, because of the recent shit that is happening around fanfic, I decided a note was needed. I have decided that I will start moving all my stories over to The Writer's Coffee Shop and Archiveourown.

I will continue to post on here until I'm made to leave, but the above is for just in case my stuff disappears all of a sudden. I'll still have my blog and facebook group. And I'll provide the link for archive when I get it set up. For TWCS just look for me, I have the same penname abbymickey24.

The only thing posted on TWCS right now is Keeping Things Interesting-a one-shot I did.

Thank you all for your patience in waiting for me to update. I know I've been fail, but I'm trying to get them out to you. I keep getting stuck or sick and I hope now that the weather has finally evened out the sick part will stay away for a while.

I love you all and hope that if I do disappear you will follow. MWAH


	16. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: Yeah I don't own it. I just like to turn all of them human and have my fun with them.**

**A huge thanks to Twilightobsessed09 for making the chapter so pretty.**

**The wonderful christag_banner made me a beautiful banner. Link is on my profile.**

**Still have the facebook group for my stories as well as the blog. Link for the group is on my profile. There is also a link for a new Twilight Non-Canon group. If you want to join click on the link and request entry. Remember though it is strictly for NON-CANON discussions and stories.**

**This chapter is dedicated to Aunt Bell who was my sounding board many times. Thank her for this getting to you today.**

**This chapter is also not beta'd so all mistakes are mine.**

**It also did not go at all the way I planned. It seemed to have a mind of it's own and for those looking for a kiss or lemon-I'm sorry, but you will be disappointed.**

**-TG-**

_**Jasper**_

I watched as Bella ran up the stairs, flinching slightly when her door slammed shut.

Dropping my head into my hands I thought, _What in the hell just happened?_

_You almost kissed her, dumbass_. I answered myself almost immediately.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. Why did I do that?

I mean her lips were right there and I knew for a fact she was an awesome kisser, but was that the only reason?

I, honestly, didn't know at the moment.

After a few more minutes of sitting there, I sighed, walked into the kitchen, and grabbed a beer from the fridge. After opening it, I moved to the back door and slid it open silently, stepping out onto the back porch.

Once I was settled in a deck chair, I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed my brother's number.

_"Are the twins okay?"_ Peter asked two rings later.

"Yes, they're fine. Sorry..." I answered, realizing that it was later than I would normally call.

_"Oh, good, so what's up then?"_

"Well, I almost did something tonight and I need your thoughts on what it could mean."

_"Okay..."_ He said, his voice holding a touch of trepidation. _"What did you almost do?"_

"I almost kissed Bella."

_"Seriously?"_

"Yeah, and-" His laughter cut me off and I rolled my eyes.

When he calmed down a few seconds later he said, _"Fucking finally."_

"I know..." I started only to realize what he said. "Wait? What?"

_"Dude,"_ He said, laughing again. _"It was only a matter of time before you two got together."_

"But we aren't. We just fell asleep and woke up laying all over each other."

_"Really now?"_

"It was not as dirty as you're thinking, dickhead. Help me with this."

_"What do you want me to help you with, little brother? You should have learned to kiss by now and even if you hadn't, that is not something I would be interested in helping you figure out."_

"God, why did I call you? I should have known better. I'm just hanging up now and forget I even talked to you."

_"No, Jasper, wait."_ He said, chuckling._ "I'm just messing with you. I'll be serious. Tell me what you need."_

"Well, I don't know if it was something that just that moment produced or if it was more."

_"More, definitely."_ He said without hesitation.

"And how do you know that, oh wise one?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

_"Okay, I'm going to let you in on a little secret and ruin any chance of me making money; however, I can't see any other way around it, so listen closely. You are without a doubt, completely, hopelessly, and irrevocably in love with Bella."_

I heard what he said, heard every damn word, but for the life of me I couldn't figure out how in the hell he came to that conclusion, so I said the only thing I could.

"Right, Peter."

He chuckled and said, _"I'm dead serious, little brother. Sorry, to break it to you like that, but it's obvious to everyone, except you and Bella."_

"That's not possible."

_"Why not? She's gorgeous, she's smart, she's got a heart of gold, and she's in love with you."_

"She is not."

_"Oh, yes she is and just like you she is completely oblivious to it."_

"I'm still not convinced I'm in love with her."

_"Okay, then tell me this. What do you see when you look at Bella? All those times you stare at her, and don't deny it, because you do...a lot, what do you see?"_

I didn't even think before I answered. "The mother of my children...oh shit."

He laughed before he said, _"Welcome to the club, little brother."_

"How did this happen? When did it happen?"

_"How? That's not really something you can explain. When? I'm guessing sometime after you kicked Maria's ass to the curb and when we came to visit spring break."_

"I never expected this though."

_"Not many people do, Jasper. What's that old saying?"_ He asked before going quiet for a minute. _"Oh yeah, you'll find love when you least expect it."_

"But is this a good idea?"

_"It's not something you can just turn off, moron"_

"I know that, asshole, but I meant what if it doesn't work out? We still have the twins and would have to be around each other."

_"Yes, your situation is different, but even if you had met her in a different way and had kids of your own, there would be no guarantee you'd be married forever. You deal with that if it comes, but you can't run away from, in my opinion, the best thing that has ever happened to you because of a fear that it might not last."_

"So, what do I do? Do I talk to her about it?"

_"God, no. She's got to figure it out first; you can't just spring it on her."_

"Like you did with me." I said.

_"Yes, well guys are different. I can tell you this and after just a few words you figure it out. Girls tend to over analyze and think about things. She's going to have to figure it out for herself or at least start thinking about it before you say anything."_

"So, what do I do?" I asked for the second time.

_"Nothing."_ He answered.

"What is the point of that?"

_"The point, is to keep her from freaking out over things. You don't want to scare her off before you even have a chance of starting something. Just keep going the way you are and eventually, she'll come around."_

"And if she doesn't?"

_"She will, Jasper. Give her a little time."_

"Fine," I sighed. "But what do I do about the almost kiss?"

_"You follow her lead with that. If she brings it up then you talk about it and you tell her that you're starting to see things differently."_

"You just said that would scare her away."

_"No, I said let her come to you. If she brings up the almost kiss, then that means she spent the whole night thinking about it and came to the conclusion that a-she either wants to have it become an actual kiss, or b-that she doesn't want it to become an actual kiss. Either way she thought about it and that means you'd be fine to open up."_

"God, I'm so confused." I said, running a hand through my hair.

Peter laughed for the upteenth time._ "Love does that to all men, little brother. It's the way the world works."_

I finally chuckled myself and said, "Yeah. How did you get so smart anyway?"

_"Because I was lucky enough to find Charlotte and if you asked her, she trained me right. Plus, you're my brother and I want you happy like I am."_

"Aww, I love you too, Peter."

_"Shut up, dickhead."_ He said, laughing.

I joined in and when we both calmed down I asked, "So, what is this about you losing money?"

_"Oh, yeah that..."_ He said, before explaining about the bet and a few other things I hadn't known.

To say I was shocked when he finished would have been an understatement. Finding out that everyone knew about what happened the night of the wedding had rendered me speechless. I hadn't given a thought to why we hadn't been interrupted and I'd really thought we'd gotten away with it. Granted, we were both really drunk, so hearing that we weren't as stealthy as I thought, shouldn't really have been a surprise.

_"You still there?"_ Peter asked after I didn't say anything for a good five minutes.

"Yeah, just working it all out in my head."

_"Well, just remember what I said and don't rush it; things will fall into place before you know it."_

"I guess." I said and then offered up my gratitude. "Thanks, Peter."

_"You're welcome, little brother. You know I'm here for you, however seeing as it's after midnight I'm finished doing that for the night. I'm going to drag my happy ass to bed and see if I can wake my wife up."_

"That is not something I need or want in my head." I groaned, earning a laugh from him.

_"I'll talk to you later then. Call if you screw up and I'll see you in a few weeks."_ He said.

I nodded even though he couldn't see me. "See you then."

_"Night, asshole."_

"Night, dickhead." I said before hanging up.

Sliding my phone back in my pocket, I chugged the rest of my now warm beer. I stayed on the back deck for a while longer, thinking about everything Peter had said. I don't know how I didn't see it before now; my feelings were obvious.

The longer I sat there and thought about it, the more I wanted it to be obvious to Bella too. God, keeping quiet was going to be hard, but I would. This was the first time I'd ever been in love and I didn't want to do anything to jeopardize that.

Shaking my head, I finally pushed myself out of the chair and went back inside, shutting the door behind me and making sure it was locked. After dropping my bottle into the trash, I made my way upstairs, pausing just for a moment to stare at Bella's closed bedroom door. I wondered if she'd stayed up late thinking about the almost kiss, but pushed the thought away. I had to listen to Peter and hope like hell she came to me about it the next day.

She didn't.

There was, however, an awkward silence. Thankfully, it lasted as long as it took to leave the house. We both seemed to forget about the tension as we shopped for the twin's birthday presents and the day passed without any more awkwardness.

I wish I could say the same for the next few weeks, as well. For the most part, things were okay, but every now and then I'd forget myself and Bella would catch me staring at her. I'd brush it off when she'd ask what, but she'd still look at me funny.

I knew I was going to have to talk to Peter again when he and Charlotte arrived tomorrow or at least sometime this weekend. I wasn't going to last much longer without blurting out how I felt about her, if he didn't talk me down.

I sighed and pulled myself from my thoughts, just in time for my phone to ring. Leaning back against the couch, I slid it out of my pocket and hit answer after seeing that it was Bella.

"Hey, everything okay?" I asked.

_"Everything is fine, I just wanted to see if the twins were awake?"_

"Yeah, they're sitting here in the floor playing. Why?"

_"Well, I don't have a client until 4 and I was thinking, if you didn't mind, you could bring them over and I could do their one year pictures."_

"Sure," I said. "What should I dress them in?"

_"They both have jeans, so those, and then white t-shirts. I can't remember if Kinsley has one, but I know Aiden has a few; so if she doesn't, just put her in one of his. Also, grab one of her pink headbands, their giraffe and turtle in their cribs, and a couple little toys."_

"All right, we'll be there soon."

_"Okay,"_ She said. I was just about to hang up when her voice stopped me. _"OH..."_

"Yeah?" I asked.

_"Can you bring me something for lunch too?"_

I chuckled. "I can. What do you want?"

_"I don't know. Surprise me."_

"All right, I'll see you in a little bit."

_"Thanks, Jasper."_

"You're welcome, Bella."

We hung up then and I gathered the twins in my arms, carrying them up the stairs and to their room. They didn't need a bath, but I wiped them down before I dressed them. Kinsley didn't have a plain white t-shirt, well one that didn't have a stain on it any way. I was pretty sure, Bella would kick my ass if I showed up with her dressed in one of them, so I put her in one of Aiden's.

When I had their clothes on, I realized Bella didn't say anything about shoes. I thought about it for a few minutes before I left them barefoot. It was summer and warm, so they would be okay. I sat them in Aiden's crib while I gathered the other things Bella asked for and then carried them and the bag downstairs.

As I started packing something for their lunch, I realized that them eating would be detrimental to their clothing. But if we held off on feeding them, their schedule would be thrown off. Again, I stood thinking for a few minutes before taking them back upstairs and changing them into something else until after they ate.

Once I had everything ready to go, I buckled them into the car and we drove over to Panera Bread before going on to Bella's studio. I slid our sandwiches and drinks into the diaper bag before throwing the strap over my shoulder and getting the twins out.

They babbled back and forth to each other as I walked up to the front door and I couldn't help but laugh at them; laughter that cut off as I pulled the door open and saw inside. I've felt jealousy before, but nothing, and I mean nothing, prepared me for the white hot anger that surged through me at the sight of Bella touching some douchebag and laughing.

I didn't care that I didn't know him, that I hadn't told her how I felt yet, or that I wasn't even sure my feelings for her would be returned. All I cared about was that she was touching him and he was making her laugh. I wanted to beat the fuck out of him and honestly, the only thing really stopping me at the moment, were the twins who were still in my arms.

"Hey, you're here." Bella said as she saw us and moved to walk over.

I turned my eyes on her and smirked when she paused briefly. I'm sure I looked like I was ready to do bodily harm, especially when I was just thinking about doing it to whomever the dick was.

Bella continued to move closer and took Kinsley from me before motioning me forward. The dickhead stood leaning against the counter smirking as we got closer and I had to take a deep breath in so I didn't punch his teeth down his throat.

"Jasper this is Jacob. Jacob this is Jasper, Kinsley, and Aiden." Bella said when we stopped in front of him.

I watched, feeling my eyes narrow when the asshole reached out and tickled Kinsley under the chin, making her giggle. I wanted to rip his arm off and beat him with it.

"She's adorable, Bella." Dumbass said before looking at Aiden. "So is he. You're going to have your hands full when they get older."

"I'm sure we will." She answered, grinning at Kinsley and making noises to get her laughing.

While she was doing that, fuckhead turned to me and held out his hand. "Nice to meet you, man."

I would have left him hanging if Bella hadn't turned her eyes to me, giving me a look that clearly said, what the fuck. Barely resisting rolling my eyes, I shuffled Aiden to my other hip and took the dick's hand. "You too jacka..." I coughed to cover my slip and finished, "Jacob."

Bella didn't seem to notice, but the smirk that appeared on the asshole's face told me he caught it. Of course, it could also have been for the fact that I was squeezing his hand harder than I normally would too; his chuckle had me pulling my hand away and fighting the urge to punch him with it.

Turning toward Bella, he said, "I guess I'll get out of your way."

"All right," Bella responded. "I'll see you at 6 on Monday."

He grinned, gave me a look over his shoulder, and then leaned forward, kissing Bella's cheek. "See you then."

I growled lowly, earning another chuckle from him and look from Bella before he walked out whistling. Bella was still looking at me as the door closed behind him, but I ignored her and went on back to her office.

She followed quickly and as I was pulling her lunch out she asked, "What was that out there?"

"Nothing," I said, continuing to empty the bag. I sat Aiden down and then took Kinsley, sitting her down beside him.

"Jasper?"

"It was nothing, Bella. Just forget about it." I said before pushing her lunch across her desk. "There's your food."

I could feel her eyes on me as I settled in front of the twins and started to feed them, but I didn't say anything else. I didn't want to talk about what had happened out there because I was still annoyed and when I did tell her my feelings, it wasn't going to be because I'd been jealous.

The tension was thick the rest of the time the twins and I were at Bella's studio. I sat and stewed while she took picture after picture of the twins. By the time she'd started looking at which pictures to order, I was back to pissed off instead of just annoyed; I'd finally thought about was dumbass had said before he left and realized that he was going to be seeing her when she closed on Monday. To me that meant a date and because of that I was not in a good mood.

"What do you think about these?" Bella asked, drawing my eyes to the computer she sat in front of.

"They're fine." I answered, barely seeing them.

"And these?"

"They're good too."

"You didn't even look." She said. "What is the matter with you?"

"Nothing," I said before pushing myself up to my feet. "I'm going to take the twins home, it's almost time for their nap."

"But we're still going through the pictures?"

"You can do it." I said as I gathered up their toys.

"Jasper?"

"Bella, just do it." I snapped as I glanced over my shoulder at her, my voice louder than I intended.

"Fine," She said angrily as she rolled her eyes.

Silently, I finished packing the twins' things and then picked them up. Bella didn't say anything either as she kissed each one on the cheek and we left.

The rest of the afternoon, I still couldn't let go of everything I was feeling. I'd taken Peter's advice and not said anything and look where that got me; fucking nowhere. Granted, if she was making dates, it probably wouldn't have mattered if I'd said something because obviously she didn't feel the same.

By the time Bella came home, the anger, jealousy, and the new emotion of rejection had taken me over completely. I could tell she still wasn't happy either, but I didn't care. To me she didn't have a right to be upset; I was the one hurting. As the night slowly passed, you could cut the tension with a knife and I finally just took the twins upstairs early and read to them until bedtime.

As I was laying them down I heard loud banging coming from the kitchen. Rolling my eyes, I walked downstairs and stopped in the kitchen doorway.

**-****TG****-**

_**Bella**_

Jasper had seriously pissed me off. He'd had an attitude all afternoon and evening and I was done with it, especially since I didn't know what the hell I'd done to cause it. Thankfully, he was out of my sight for the moment.

"They're never going to get to sleep if you keep making this much noise," Jasper said just as I slammed a cabinet door.

"Don't start with me, Jasper." I said as I jerked a drawer open before slamming it closed as well.

"What in the hell is your problem?"

I laughed humorlessly and glared at him over my shoulder. "You did not just ask me that. Especially, since you've had an attitude all day."

"At least I'm not banging shit around." He said, coming into the kitchen more.

"Of course not, you just want to snap at me for no reason or act like an emo douche and brood. What the hell happened to piss you off so much?" I said as I turned around and leaned against the counter behind me.

"Nothing."

I rolled my eyes in response. "I don't believe that for a second."

"Believe what you want to believe, Bella. You don't have to know everything though."

"Seriously?" I scoffed and stepped forward, propping my hands on the island. "Excuse me for wanting to know why you're being an asshole, so I can maybe help you and have things back to normal around here."

"You didn't seem to think about that earlier." He said so low I almost didn't catch it.

"What does that mean?"

He came around the island and stopped right beside me before he answered, 'It means, Bella, that you didn't seem to think about things being normal around here earlier when you accepted a date with some asshole."

"What are you...do you mean Jacob?" I asked with a laugh that only seemed to piss Jasper off further.

"Of course, I mean him. I don't think I saw you acting like a s-"

"Finish that sentence like I think you're going to, and I swear on all things holy you will not walk upright ever again," I hissed, cutting him off.

"Whatever, Bella."

"No, you don't get to just brush that shit off, Jasper. You don't get to almost call me something like that ever, especially when it's completely untrue. I am not nor have I ever been a slut because that is what you were going to call me...right?"

"You've never acted like a slut? Really? So, I guess you've forgotten the night of Alice and Edward's wedding then?"

"No, I haven't forgotten, but I also recall you being there as well, so what does that make you?"

"Horny," He said with a smug smile that I wanted to slap off his face and then he just had to keep talking. "And since, you threw yourself at me who was I to deny you. Of course, that could have all been because you were drunk. Maybe I should call Jacob and let him in on the fact that if he buys you alcohol, he'll be sure to get lucky too."

When he was done, I felt like he'd slapped me. If it had been anyone else, it would have pissed me off further, but with him, all I felt was a hurt deeper than I ever had before.

Taking a deep breath, I tried and failed to keep the tears from coming. "Well, it's nice to see what you really think about...me." I said, my voice breaking at the end.

"Bella...I-"

"No," I said holding up my hand. "I think you've said enough. You're going to listen to me now." He nodded slowly as I took in another breath and then I continued. "I'm going to clear up something first, since it, for some reason, seems to be the cause of the things you said to me.

"I wasn't making a date with Jacob. He and wife have been coming to the studio, since I opened. She just had their second child two months ago and her birthday is next month. Monday at 6 was the only time he could come in with the kids, since she was going to be out of the house. I was going to tell you about it tonight, but then, well we both know how that turned out. Which brings me to what you said.

"I don't know why the thought of me having a date bothers you, but if there ever comes a time when I do, it will be none of your business. I know saying that probably makes me a hypocrite because I sure as hell had a lot to say about Maria, but I was never intentionally mean to you and I would have never said something that cruel to you.

"Up until now I've never regretted sleeping with you, but calling me a slut and throwing it in my face, makes me regret it more than anything else I've ever done in my life. Last time you brought it up, I hit you. I want to do that again; I want to hit you over and over until you're hurting like I am right now, but I won't because that would make me as low as you are.

"However, I'm not above telling you to leave like I did that night as well. I want you to get out because I can't be in the same house with you tonight and if you don't want to leave, then I will."

"I'll go," he whispered.

I nodded and reached up to wipe the tears streaming down my face. He stood there for a minute looking at me before he turned and walked to the doorway.

Pausing, he turned back around and said, "I know it won't mean much right now, but I was wrong and completely out of line. And I am so sorry."

"One day I will accept your apology, but I wouldn't hold your breath for it to be anytime soon."

It was his turn to nod before he walked out of the room. I turned once he'd disappeared up the stairs and dropped my head into my hands.

I didn't bother turning around when I heard him coming back down the stairs a few minutes later. He once again paused in the doorway, but thankfully, he didn't say anything before he continued out of the house. My eyes closed when the front door shut softly behind him and I waited until his truck pulled away before going upstairs. With everything swirling through my head, I could feel a headache coming on and I just wanted this day to be over.

After checking on the twins and finding them asleep, I walked into my room and laid down without bothering to undress or even get under the covers.

As I cried myself to sleep the only thing I could think about was that Jasper and I had reached a point that I wasn't sure we could come back from.

**-TG-**

**Well? Review and let me know and just bare with me as we get through the angst.**

**Up next: Another confrontation and a whole lot tension during the twins' birthday party.**


	17. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: Yeah I don't own it. I just like to turn all of them human and have my fun with them.**

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**ENJOY...**

**-TG-**

**Peter**

"Jasper is picking us up, right?" Char asked as we made our way off the jet way at SeaTac.

"Yeah, he said he'd be at baggage claim."

"Did you talk to him last night to make sure he didn't forget what time?"

"No, but he lives with Bella. I'm sure she will make sure he knows."

She nodded, but started digging into her bag. She pulled her phone out and hit send on Bella's name after bringing up her contacts.

She held it up to her ear, but was sighing and hanging up within seconds.

"What's up?" I asked as we sidestepped a family rushing by.

"Her phone went straight to voice-mail."

"She's probably busy and just has it turned off." I said wrapping my arm around her waist.

"But she didn't answer last night either. I hope everything is okay."

"I'm sure it is, babe. Someone would have let us know if something had happened."

"I know, but I don't like not being able to get in touch with her."

"Well, we'll be at baggage claim in a minute. If Jasper isn't there we'll try Emmett or Rose."

She nodded again and we continued through the airport. We made it past the security cutoff point quickly and headed for the escalator. As we stepped on Charlotte was already looking around and about halfway down she groaned.

"What?" I asked, glancing down at her.

"Does he look like everything is okay?" She asked pointing.

I followed her finger and saw Jasper slumped in a chair, looking like he hadn't slept at all.

Shaking my head, I said, "I wonder what happened."

"Only one way to find out," Char said as we stepped off the escalator and walked toward him.

He glanced up when we were a few feet away and pushed himself to his feet.

"You okay, little brother?" I asked, earning a glare for an answer.

Charlotte looked between us before putting herself in the middle. "Jasper, is everything okay?"

I watched as he took in a breath and then moved his eyes to her. "Everything is just great, Char." He said and I didn't miss the sarcasm dripping from his words.

She didn't seem to miss them either because she looked back at me, worry written all over her face.

However, before we could question Jasper further he was asking, "Do you guys have any checked bags?"

"Just one," Charlotte answered, motioning him toward the right luggage carousel.

He moved that way without a word and stood there with his arms crossed once he got to it. I rolled my eyes and pushed past him to get our bag when it appeared. Once I had it in hand, I turned and found him already heading for the exit.

"What the hell happened?" Char whispered as we followed behind him.

"You know as much as I do, babe," I said back before speeding up to walk next to him.

He never acknowledged I was there, but as we walked through the parking garage I kept hearing him say things. He was muttering too low for me to get the exact words, but adding it to his attitude and it was enough to just piss me the hell off.

Once we made it to his truck, I grabbed his arm and turned him around. "What is your problem?" I asked.

"Nothing," he spat as he jerked his arm out of my hand and then said something, again too low for me to catch.

"Wrong answer, little brother." I said as I dropped my carry-on and checked bag.

Reaching up quickly, I wrapped my arm around his neck, putting him in a headlock. I backed up against his truck for leverage and squeezed my arm a little as I said, "Let's try this again. What the fuck happened?"

"You did," he hissed, trying to pry my arm off.

I let him move my arm, but only so I could shove him back against where I had just been leaning by the front of his shirt. "What did I do?"

"You told me to wait and because I listened to you, everything is fucked up now." He said, confusing me.

"Wait for what?" Char asked before I could.

"To tell Bella," Jasper answered her, but kept his glare on me.

"What did you do?" I asked, finally understanding what he was talking about.

"I waited," he said. "And I thought she was making a date and got mad. It's all your fault."

I opened my mouth to reply, but Charlotte drew our attention to her. "Someone needs to explain what is going on, right now."

I sighed and then shot a glare of my own at Jasper when he went to answer; there was no way I was letting him say a word yet. I quickly told Char about the phone call between me and Jasper and then waited as she turned to him.

"What did you do?"

He briefly explained what had happened yesterday and once he'd finished, Char closed her eyes. I realized we were both in trouble seconds before her hands shot out and gripped our ears.

The pain from that little thing had me letting Jasper go and both of us bending to her will.

"Now, you, my darling husband, are to never give love advice unless it's how to get out of the doghouse. Understand?"

"Yes, baby," I said, wincing when she twisted her hand a little.

She nodded and let me go before turning her attention to Jasper. As I rubbed the pain away she said, "And you, my darling brother-in-law, are never to take love advice from him. As for Bella and the complete lack of filter you seemed to have had last night you will apologize, you will grovel, and you will do whatever else it takes to get back into her good graces. I don't care what it is because she is not to blame for this. Neither is Peter. You made the choice to let your jealousy take over, turning you into an asshole, and you will fix it. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes," He said quickly.

"Good, and one more thing," She said leaning closer. "You should be glad it was Bella that you'd called a slut because if it had been me, you'd still be walking funny."

He nodded, letting her know he understood before she let him go. He stepped back and rubbed at his ear as he glanced over at me.

"Sorry," he said.

"It's cool," I said with a shrug. "But how did it come to be my fault that you were an idiot?"

"Let's talk about this on the way to Bella's work." Charlotte said, drawing our attention back to her.

Jasper smiled at her a little before unlocking the truck. Once we were all settled inside and he was navigating us out of the airport, he answered my question.

"After she kicked me out and I found a hotel room, I spent all night going over everything. I knew she wasn't to blame which left me. But I was still angry and didn't want to believe it was all my fault, so that left you; the one that had advised me on how to deal with my feelings for her."

"So, you're definitely in love with her?" Charlotte asked and I rolled my eyes at the happiness I heard in her voice.

"Oh yeah," Jasper said. "But I screwed it up. I said things that I knew would hurt her last night."

"Yes, you did, but she'll forgive you. Just do what I said; apologize, grovel, and whatever else. She'll eventually come around. However, you will need to be patient."

"How long do you think it will take?" He asked.

"As long as it takes," Char answered. "You were an ass and you called her a slut. If I were you, I'd apologize as soon as I saw her, but you should give her some space for a few days before you get into the groveling."

"I will," he said quietly.

I looked back at Charlotte, receiving a frown. I knew she wanted to make things right, but she would have to sit back and let this play out like it needed too. No matter how much she might not want to.

We spent the rest of the drive to Bella's studio in silence. When we pulled into the parking lot and stopped, Charlotte hopped out.

"You boys go have fun," she said.

"Should I apologize now?" Jasper asked, reaching for his seat belt.

"No," I said and then glanced quickly at Char as I covered my ear.

She smiled and winked before she said, "No, if she has clients you don't want to cause a scene. Tonight will be soon enough."

"Alright," he said.

She smiled sadly at him before turning to me. "Love you." She said as she leaned up for a kiss.

"Love you, too," I said back after laying one on her.

Once she'd step back with a laugh, I pulled the door shut. She waved before turning and walking to the front door; disappearing inside.

Jasper was looking at me when I glanced back at him and I reached over, slapping the back of his shoulder. "Let's go see those babies." I said, wanting to cheer him up.

It had the desired effect and as he pulled back onto the main road he was finally smiling.

**-****TG****-**

_**Charlotte**_

"You're here," Bella said with a smile, that didn't quite reach her eyes, as soon as I stepped in the door. She was sitting at a desk with a woman and small child, so I just nodded and moved over to a chair to wait.

It wasn't long before the woman was leaving and Bella rushed over to give me a hug.

As I wrapped my arms around her I asked, "How are you, hun?"

"I've been better," she answered as I pulled back.

I can imagine," I said as she motioned me to follow her.

We walked into her office and settled down on her couch before she said, "So, I'm assuming he told you what happened."

"He did. And I have to say that throwing him out was way, way less than he deserved."

She smiled, but it slipped away quickly as she sighed. "I don't know what to do anymore, Charlotte. I think we're okay, becoming friends, and then this. He was beyond mean and I don't even know why. I mean he thought I was going on a date, but why should that bother him so much that he felt the need to say those things to me."

I shook my head and smiled as I took her hand. "I'm going to tell you something and I need you to not interrupt, okay?" I asked and then continued when she nodded. "Sometimes you have to let your friends muddle through things until they figure out the obvious on their own and sometimes you have to give them a little nudge in the right direction. Well, I'm going to give you the nudge; what you do with it will be up to you. Jasper got upset because he was jealous. He cares about you and he let the thought of you being with another guy take over because he wants to be with you and not in a platonic way. And I think you might want the same thing." I finished.

She sat staring at me for a good five minutes before she swallowed hard and shook her head.

"I don't."

"Are you sure, Bella?" I asked.

She closed her eyes, dropped her head, and went silent again. She was quiet for a while, but I just let her think about what I'd said. I knew she needed to work things out in her head.

Finally, she lifted her head and sighed. "I'm not sure," she whispered lowly.

"That's what I thought," I said, but she was shaking her head again before I finished.

"It doesn't matter though."

"Why?"

"Because our situation is complicated enough without adding a romantic relationship into it. Plus, Jasper made it clear what he thought about me last night."

"Bella, I'm not agreeing with him, but that was the jealousy. He feels horrible for what he said."

My eyes followed her as she stood and started to pace the length of her office. On her second lap, she stopped and looked at me. "That may be true, Charlotte, but what happens if we're together? What happens if I explore these feelings and he turns into a dick because some guy said hey to me? If he could be that mean when we aren't together, what happens when we are?"

"Bella..." I tried, but she stopped me with a raise of her hand.

"I'll tell you what happens, we wouldn't continue to be together. So, where would that leave us? Raising two children and trying to hide the tension? I won't put them through that, Lord knows they've been through enough in their short lives, and I won't add something else that could hurt them. Because in the end it would."

"But Bella..."

"No, Charlotte." She said, finally showing that she was upset. "I don't want to talk about this anymore. Jasper and I are strictly godparents. We were trusted to raise the twins and we will do so, but we will not be together in any other way."

"Okay," I said with a sigh.

She nodded with finality and then her whole mood flipped into the Bella I'd grown to love.

I took her cue and didn't mention Jasper for the rest of the day. However, once we got back to their house, after picking up the decorations, food, and cakes for tomorrow, the tension between those two was so thick you could cut it with a knife. At one point, he apologized and while she nodded that she'd heard him she said nothing else and kept herself busy with preparing the food for the next day.

I helped with what I could and kept my eyes on both of them. He was upset that she wasn't speaking to him and spent most of the night talking quietly to Peter. She made no move to bring him into anything nor did she say much and while I understood why, that didn't mean I liked it. However, I had to let it go for now. I'd planted the seed earlier and I could only wonder if her silence meant she was thinking about everything I'd said. I hoped so and once she'd forgiven Jasper, maybe then she would see what the rest of us did. And if she didn't, then we would cross that bridge. However, I had a feeling it would all work out and they would eventually become a couple.

**-TG-**

**Well, was it worth the wait even though it was a filler?**

**Up Next: The tension filled birthday party**

**Okay, now the poll. I've decided to go ahead and get read for my next set of stories, even though I'm not even close to being done on a few of my others, but I want to be able to have a plan. I've decided that while 5 at once is too many, 3 would be okay. So, I will for certain be doing a Carlisle/Bella one and a Peter/Bella one, but out of my Jasper/Bella ones I can't decide. That is where you guys come in. There is a poll on my profile for you to vote, the summaries are there as well. Vote for the two you would like to see next and come next Monday I will then have a poll to vote between those two. The same poll is up in my group on Facebook and you can vote there as well. Voting will go until Sunday at noon eastern time.**


	18. Chapter 16

**_Disclaimer: Yeah I don't own it. I just like to turn all of them human and have my fun with them._**

**The wonderful christag_banner made me a beautiful banner. Link is on my profile.**

**THANK YOU FOR ALL THE REVIEWS. I DIDN'T GET THE CHANCE TO ANSWER MOST OF THEM, BUT I DID READ EACH ONE AND I APPRECIATE THEM.**

**I still have the facebook group for my stories as well as the blog. Link for the group is on my profile. There is also a link for a the Twilight Non-Canon group. If you want to join click on the link and request entry. Remember though it is strictly for NON-CANON discussions and stories.**

**Also, there is a new poll up on my profile and in my FB group. It's down to two stories, so I just need you to vote for one. It will run until Sunday and I'll let you guys know the winner next week. If you aren't part of the group, just send me a request on there.**

**Chapters left after this one and including the epilogue-13**

**This wasn't betaed so mistakes are mine.**

**ENJOY...**

**-TG-**

_**Jasper**_

I groaned and rolled over onto my back as I pried my eyes open. I hadn't gotten much sleep, thanks to Peter wanting to talk about everything under the sun. While I wanted a few more hours, I knew I needed to get up. I could already hear movement going on downstairs and I didn't want to upset Bella anymore.

I sighed at how much I'd hurt and upset her as I pushed myself to a sitting position and dropped my feet to the floor. I was an idiot, plain and simple, when it came to her. I'd let my jealousy get completely out of hand and then blamed everyone else but myself.

Peter and Char were right though. I had to fix this and soon. I'd come to rely on our talks, her smile, and her laugh. I missed it and it had only been a day. Plus, trying to start a relationship with her would be hard if she didn't want me around her.

Unfortunately, today was not the day to try to fix it though. I could apologize if the moment presented itself, but talking to her about it was out of the question. Today was about the twins. Tomorrow would be good and maybe I could even talk Peter and Char into watching the twins for a few hours, so we could talk.

With a plan in mind, I pushed myself up off the bed and slipped on a pair of jeans before grabbing a different t-shirt and putting on my shoes. I didn't bother showering, knowing that more than likely I would just have to take another one before everyone got here.

After grabbing my wallet, in case I needed to run out for something, I stopped off by the twins room to see if they were still asleep.

They weren't in their cribs and as I made my way downstairs I could hear their babbling conversation coming from the kitchen. When I turned the corner, I found them in their highchairs, happily chomping on Cheerios and juice. Bella and Charlotte were on each side of the island, cutting up vegetables and laughing.

However, I didn't miss Bella's laugh cutting off or her face taking on a neutral look when they heard me.

"Hey," I said with a sigh.

Char smiled sadly at me as Bella whispered out a hey and turned toward the fridge.

I stared at her back for a few seconds before looking at Charlotte. "Where is Peter?"

"He's out back, cleaning things up." She answered as her eyes cut to Bella who was now ignoring me completely.

"I'll go help. Call if you need me." I said before moving over to the twins, kissing the top of their heads, and wishing them a Happy Birthday.

They giggled and tried to feed me some Cheerios, but I shook my head with a smile and left the kitchen through the backdoor.

Peter glanced up from where he was wiping down chairs and said, "Finally, decided to grace me with your presence I see."

"Shut up," I said with a roll of my eyes.

He laughed as he threw me a rag and I moved over to one of the tables. We worked in silence most of the morning, only uttering a few words here and there. By lunchtime we had all the tables and chairs done, the grill cleaned, and the yard free of trash-not that there was any.

After a quick sandwich in the kitchen, where Bella continued to ignore me, we were sent back outside to decorate. Why Bella and Charlotte assumed Peter and I were a good choice for that job, I'll never know. We only made it five minutes before Char was coming out to take over.

She shooed us back inside to help Bella. Not that that wasn't rife with tension. Bella only spoke to Peter. If she needed me to do something it was set in front of me and I had to work out what to do. Thankfully, I didn't seem to screw anything up and by 3 everything was ready for everyone to show up 5.

After, trying and failing to get Bella to listen to me apologize, I went upstairs to shower and get ready. When I was done, I took over for Peter and Charlotte watching the twins so they could get ready. Once Bella came down, she then took them upstairs so she could change them in their birthday outfits.

I relaxed back on the couch, only moving at 4:30 when the doorbell rang. Pulling it open, I found Carlisle and Esme on the other side. Both had their arms full with food and presents.

When I went to help, Carlisle said, "There's more in the car."

"How can there be more in the car?" I asked, glancing between him and what he held.

"That's what I wanted to know." He answered with a chuckle.

"Oh hush, you two." Esme said. "We're grandparents and we are allowed to spoil our grandchildren, especially on their first birthday."

I shook my head as Carlisle just grinned and then I moved out of the way so they could come inside. I told them where to put everything before heading out the door to get hopefully the rest. However, I was completely floored with what was still left to grab and only snapped out of my staring when Carlisle and Peter joined me.

"Holy shit," Peter breathed as he stared down at the massive amount of stuff.

"There's more in the backseat," Carlisle said.

I looked at him before moving over to the passenger side and glancing in, finding a mound of wrapped presents there too.

"What the hell did you buy them?" I asked.

"I have no clue," he answered as he gathered up an armload.

I had to laugh at him because there was really nothing else to do, expect wonder why they'd decided to turn the house into our own personal Toys 'R Us store.

It took that trip and one more before the three of us had everything inside. The present table was already close to overflowing with just ours and Carlisle and Esme's presents. By the time everyone else had arrived one whole side of the living room was filled with presents, most stacked on the floor around the table.

Just after 5, the party was underway with the guys and I congregated out on the back deck, getting the grill heated up and talking, and the women in the kitchen, oohing and aahing over the twins who were eating up the attention.

Bella was going back and forth, making sure everything and everyone was taken care of. Well, everyone except me. She'd get drinks and speak to the others, but nothing was directed at me. I didn't miss Carlisle and Charlie sharing looks each time. And the one time I ventured into the kitchen I didn't miss Esme and Rose looking toward Charlotte when Bella made a conscious effort to avoid me.

I knew questions would soon arise and was mentally prepared to take the lashing I was going to be given.

No one had said or asked anything by the time the hamburgers and hotdogs were finished, so I put it out of my head til later. I knew they wouldn't bring it up during dinner, since there were a few people here that were not part of the family.

Once everyone was settled at the tables, the twins in between me and Bella we dug in. Bella quickly cut up a hamburger for each of the babies and added some potato salad to their plates along with a few crackers. I gave them some ketchup and then we made our own plates.

No much talking was done while everyone ate and pretty soon we were all done. The girls quickly moved the leftovers and dishes inside and then brought out the cakes. Bella set up all the cupcakes on the table we were sitting at while Charlotte and Esme moved Kinsley and Aiden back, stripped them of their clothes, and placed them back in their highchairs.

Bella brought out their small cakes and set them on the main table long enough to snap a couple of pictures and then she moved them to the high chairs.

It took a few minutes before the twins would touch them, during which we sang Happy Birthday, but once they did it was hilarious. For 15 minutes, they had a blast; they ate their own cake, reached across and fed each other, and just made a mess. We all stood watching and laughing at them and Bella took picture after picture.

Once they seemed to have their fill, demolishing the cakes in the process, Bella and Esme scooped them up and headed inside. I started to help Charlotte clean up, but managed to get cake all over me as well. She laughed and shook her head at me before sending me inside for a new shirt.

As I made it to the top of the stairs I could hear Esme and Bella talking in the bathroom. I couldn't make out the words over the water running into the tub and probably not wanting to know, I moved on.

When I got to my bedroom, I pulled a clean shirt out of my dresser and replaced the dirty one. Going back out into the hallway, I was about to head down the stairs when I heard Esme asking Bella what was going on between the two of us.

I should have continued on, but instead, I found myself moving to lean against the wall right next to the door.

As I listened to Bella tell Esme what I'd said, I realized just how much my words had hurt her; I would be lucky if she ever forgave me no matter what I did to make it right. As I heard them start to get the twins out of the bath, I moved away from the wall and went on downstairs. I didn't want to make her even more upset, by catching me eavesdropping,

When I stepped back out onto the deck, Charlie gripped my arm and pulled me to the side where he was standing with Carlisle and Emmett.

A quick glance at the three of them showed me I was going to answer whatever they asked.

Charlie, like the father he was, was the one that spoke. "Do we need to hurt you?" He asked, glaring at me.

"No," I said, moving my eyes back and forth between the three of them.

"Are you going to fix it?" Carlisle asked.

"I'm going to try."

"You're going to what?" Charlie asked, leaning closer.

"Yes, I will fix it." I answered quickly.

"Good," Emmett said, looking like he found all of this way too amusing.

I rolled my eyes at him and then stared in shock as all three made to walk away.

Before they could get too far I said, "Wait, that's it?"

"That's it," Charlie said. "You're smart enough to know what happens if you don't fix it, so we will drop it for now."

I nodded slowly and didn't stop them as they all made to walk off again. I wasn't about to continue questioning not getting my ass beat and run the risk of them changing their minds.

The back door opened then and Esme stuck her head out, calling all of us in for presents. When we got to the living room, we found Bella already on the floor with Aiden in her lap and Kinsley sitting next to her. As everyone crowded into the room I moved over and sat down beside her, earning only a quick glance as I picked Kinsley up.

I settled her in my lap and took the first present from Esme as she held it down to me. Kinsley and Aiden, both, took a little coaxing to rip into it but eventually got the box completely uncovered. However, they seemed to care nothing for the toy and were all about the paper. No matter how much we tried to get them interested in the next present, they continued to play with the paper and Bella and I spent the next thirty minutes opening present after present for them.

By the time we were done, I had lost count of how many there were as well as what they'd even gotten. Granted, that wouldn't last long when I had to finally open all the boxes and put things together. I wasn't doing that tonight though, especially since the twins were starting to yawn.

Checking my watch, I found it was past their bedtime so I picked up Kinsley again and stood. Reaching down, I hitched Aiden up as well and then looked to Bella.

"I'll put them to bed."

She nodded and stood as well before beginning to help Esme and Carlisle pick up the trash. As I moved through the living room, everyone wished the babies goodnight and a last Happy Birthday.

Once upstairs, I changed their diapers and their clothes. After laying each of them down, I made sure they were covered before turning on the night light and stepping back into the hallway.

When I got downstairs, I saw that everyone but the family had left. Charlotte was headed toward the kitchen when I stopped her.

"Would you and Peter watch the twins for an hour or so tomorrow?" I asked as I placed a hand on her arm.

"Why?"

"I want to talk to Bella."

She stared up at me for a few seconds before she nodded. "Of course, we can."

"Thank you," I said.

"You're welcome." She said back with a smile.

I took my hand away so she could continue on, and I was about to step into the living room when she whispered my name.

Turning around, I walked to the kitchen door and had to stifle a laugh when I saw Bella sitting at the kitchen table sound asleep.

Charlotte walked over and went to shake her, but I quickly stepped in the room and moved over to stand beside her.

"I've got her," I said as I leaned down and slipped one arm under her knees and the other around her back.

Standing back up, I made sure I had a good grip before taking her upstairs. Charlotte followed me up, helping by taking off Bella's shoes and pulling the covers down. Bella didn't even move as I placed her on her bed.

Charlotte covered her up and then went to the door. Before I followed, I leaned down.

"I'm so sorry for what I said Bella. I promise you I will do whatever you ask to make this right." I whispered.

She didn't acknowledge my words, not that I thought she would, but she did turn over and pull the cover tighter around her. I stepped back and moved over to the door, flicking the light off. I pulled the door closed and then followed Charlotte back down to the living room.

The family stayed for only a few more minutes and once they were gone, I wished Charlotte and Peter a goodnight. After checking on the twins, I went to my room and stripped down. Crawling into bed, I made sure my clock was set for 6. I wanted to get up early and make breakfast, hopefully it would make Bella smile and open the way for me to ask her to lunch.

**-TG-**

**Well? How was it?**

**Up next: Bella gets an unexpected, but not unwelcomed phone call.**


	19. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: Yeah I don't own it. I just like to turn all of them human and have my fun with them.**

**The wonderful christag_banner made me a beautiful banner. Link is on my profile.**

**I still have the facebook group for my stories as well as the blog. Link for the group is on my profile. There is also a link for a the Twilight Non-Canon group. If you want to join click on the link and request entry. Remember though it is strictly for NON-CANON discussions and stories.**

**STORY THAT WON THE MOST COMBINED VOTES FROM FACEBOOK AND FANFIC WAS _'WHERE YOU LEAST EXPECT IT'._ **

**Chapters left after this one and including the epilogue-14 Plus an outtake of the wedding lemon from Alice and Edward's wedding**

**This wasn't betaed so mistakes are mine.**

_**ENJOY...**_

**-TG-**

_**Bella**_

The sun filtered through the blinds, hitting me directly in the face and waking me up. Groaning, I rolled over and checked the clock, finding it to be just after 7am. I didn't mind since I'd slept great. Hell, I didn't even remember coming up upstairs. After yesterday, I wasn't surprised though. It had been busy making sure everyone was taken care of and that the twins were happy. Plus, ignoring Jasper took every bit of extra energy I had.

I didn't like doing it and there were many times I had to catch myself from talking to him, but I really just wanted yesterday to be about the twins. It was their first birthday after all, and I knew that if I gave him a chance he would want to apologize and talk about what had happened.

If he wanted to today though, I would let him. I wanted to get this behind us, so we could go back to how it was before Thursday night. If I was being honest I missed the ease of our friendship. Our friendship only.

Charlotte saying Jasper wanted more was not something I was willing to think about. It wasn't because he wasn't a good man, he was; if you left the last few days and the whole Maria issue out of it. But I just couldn't take the chance of something going wrong.

I cared about Jasper, I did, and maybe if circumstances were different, then I could be happy with him. But we'd been entrusted with the twins and while I knew that didn't mean giving up on love or happiness, it also didn't mean inviting in the potential for trouble a romantic relationship could cause. I wasn't willing to risk hurting the twins more. Not when they have the hurt of losing their parents waiting for when they're old enough to understand.

Sighing, I scrubbed my hands over my face and sat up. I didn't want to think about that anymore. As I sat up I went back to my earlier thoughts of talking to Jasper and decided that if he didn't make the first move I would offer an olive branch to see where that took us. Maybe I could even invite him to lunch to talk about it, if Charlotte and Peter would watch the twins for a little bit that is. He needed to know that calling me what he did and throwing that night in my face wasn't something I would put up with. I didn't deserve it.

As I slid from the bed, I realized I was still dressed in yesterday's clothes. Yeah, I was out of it last night if I didn't even change. Shaking my head at my lack of memory, I stood and grabbed a change of clothes. Going into my bathroom, I took a quick shower and stepped out. Once I was dressed, I brushed my teeth and as I was putting my hair up into a ponytail I heard my phone ringing from my room.

Confused at who could possibly be calling this early on a Sunday morning, I hurried to check the caller I.D. I didn't recognize the number and almost went back to getting ready, but just before it went to voice-mail I hit the button to answer.

"Hello..." I said when I put it to my ear.

_"Yes, I'm sorry to call so early, but may I speak with Isabella Swan?"_ The woman on the other end said.

"This is Isabella."

_"Hello, Isabella and again I'm sorry to call so early."_ She said before introducing herself. _"My name is Tanya Denali and I work for National Geographic."_

"Okay," I said, sitting down on the edge of my bed.

_"Seven months ago, you sent in an application and portfolio for a chance to be the photographer on an upcoming issue for us."_

"Yes, ma'am. I wasn't chosen though."

_"I know,"_ She said. _"We did go with someone else, however personal issues have now made it impossible for him to commit to the time we would need someone. Your portfolio impressed everyone and we would like to now offer you the job."_

"Ummm...okay. What does that mean?"

_"What you would be shooting for is and issue we have coming out in May of next year. It is the 10 Best outdoor places to visit in the U.S. What that would mean is that you would fly to the first location where you would meet up with one of our writers, spend a few days shooting the area, and then you and the writer would continue on together to the other nine spots. You would be compensated for your time, of course, as well as all flight, hotel, and food would be taken care of by us. You and the writer would also be in charge of choosing the pictures for each stop. The issue will consist of a ten page photo spread and a page write up to go with each photo page."_

"Oh my God." I said, completely floored that they'd chosen me.

Tanya laughed a little before she said, _"I'm going to take that as you are okay with part of the arrangement."_

"I'm very okay with that arrangement." I said just as I heard the twins make it known they were awake. It was then I remembered things were different for me now. In the chaos that had happened I'd forgotten about applying to National Geographic. I'd wanted the chance when I filled out the application and had been disappointed when I wasn't chosen, but I couldn't do it now. Could I?

Tanya brought my attention back to her as she said my name.

"I have a few questions," I said needing answers that would help me make the decision.

_"Of course, go ahead."_

"How long would I be gone?"

_"It depends really on how quickly you can get the shot you and the writer both want and being outdoors you have to take into account the weather as well. If I have to hazard a guess I would say anywhere from 3 weeks to a month."_

"And when would I need to leave here?" I asked.

_"In two weeks."_

3 weeks to a month. I couldn't leave the twins or close the studio for that long especially with only two weeks notice. But having my photos in a magazine had always been a dream. It was a chance of a lifetime. How could I turn it down? I needed time to make this decision.

"When do I need to decide?" I asked, hoping it wasn't right at this moment.

_"We would like to know today if possible, but no later than 5 tomorrow afternoon. We would need to make sure we had all the reservations changed to your name and information, plus be able to send you everything you would need for the trip."_

"Okay," I said not sure if that would be enough time to figure things out, but it would have to do.

_"Forgive me Isabella, but I was hoping to get an automatic yes."_

"I understand and a few months ago you would have. However, my situation has changed quite a bit. I just need to talk this out with the people who I would need to rely on to take care of things at home."

_"That is understandable."_

"I promise I will let you know which way I decide by tomorrow afternoon though."

_"Alright, you can reach me anytime at the number I called you with. It is my personal cell phone."_

"Okay, and thank you for giving me time to make this decision and the opportunity."

_"You're welcome. I will speak to you soon."_

"Yes. Thank you again."

_"Bye, Isabella."_

"Bye."

When I heard the click on her end, I hung up and just sat there, wondering what I was going to do. I really needed to talk to someone about this and I knew the ones that would help me figure out things.

Pushing myself up off the bed, I grabbed my tennis shoes and slipped them on. As I checked to make sure I had everything a knock came at the door.

"Come in," I said as I slipped my phone into my pocket.

Charlotte stuck her head around the door and smiled before she said, "Hey, Jasper made breakfast and he wanted me to let you know it was done."

"I can't eat." I said as I walked toward her.

"You okay?" She asked, pushing the door open all the way.

"Yeah, I just...I need to go talk to Esme about something."

"Oh," she said.

"I'd like you to come too."

"Are you sure everything is okay?" She asked as I stepped around her and into the hall.

"I'm sure. I'll explain everything when we get to Esme's."

She nodded and then stopped me when I headed toward the twins room. "Peter took them down already."

"Okay," I said with a smile and went down ahead of her on the stairs.

Once we made it to the kitchen, I almost sat down and enjoyed the breakfast Jasper had obviously spent time on, but I didn't want to wait to talk to the girls.

Feeling bad, I said, "I'm sorry, but I need to run out for a little bit."

"What?" Jasper asked, looking up from where he was fixing a plate. "Why?"

"I need to run to Esme's. I need to talk to her about something."

"But I made breakfast."

"I know and it looks amazing, but I really need to do this."

"Right at this moment?"

"Yes." I answered.

"Okay," he said with a sigh.

"I really am sorry, Jasper. I'll explain later."

"It's fine, Bella. Go do what you need to; but...could we maybe do lunch this afternoon when you get back? Charlotte and Peter said they would watch the twins."

"Yeah," I said with a smile. "We can do that."

He returned with a smile of his own and then moved over to the table. As he sat down I went over to the back door and grabbed my keys. Charlotte followed me, only nodding when Peter asked if she was going with me.

We quickly climbed into my car and I backed out of the garage. As I drove I pulled my phone from my pocket and held it toward Charlotte.

"Can you call Rose and have her meet us there?"

"Sure, but you should know you're worrying me." She said, taking my phone.

I laughed and shook my head. "Don't be worried. It's kind of a good thing, but bad timing and I just need help figuring out what to do.

She gave me a look, but didn't say anything else. She called Rose, who said she would meet us at Esme's house.

When we got to the house, Rose was already there and I just shook my head, wondering if she'd even told Emmett where she was going before she ran out of their house.

As soon as Charlotte and I stepped through the front door Esme was there, questions and worry swimming in her eyes.

I smiled and said, "Everything is fine. I just need to talk to you about something."

She nodded and took my hand, leading me into the living room. Rose was sitting on the couch, so I settled beside her with Esme on my other side and Charlotte across from us.

"Okay, Bella, spill it." Rose said.

So I did, telling them everything Tanya said on the phone.

When I finished, Esme was the first to speak, shocking me with her words. "Bella, you have to go."

Rose and Charlotte were quick to agree with her, but I still had issues with the time I'd be gone.

"I can't just up and leave." I said.

"Why not?" Rose asked.

"The twins, I can't leave them for a month."

"Bella, they will be well taken care of. And it's not like you won't be coming back. You wouldn't miss any major holiday with them either." Rose said.

"I can't shut the studio down either. Not with such short notice."

"Your clients are loyal, Bella." Esme said. "They would understand being rescheduled, especially if you're going to shoot for National Geographic."

"Yes, but the people calling in wanting appointments and the people waiting on their photos to come in. I can't reschedule those."

"But what if you had someone that could do that stuff?" Charlotte asked.

"Who?" I asked. "There is no time to find someone that would trust enough."

"What if it was me?" Rose asked.

"Rose, I can't ask you to do that. You have Andrew anyway."

"I'll watch Andrew." Esme said, immediately.

"And you aren't asking, Bella; I'm offering. You'll have two weeks to teach me everything and you know you can trust me." Rose added.

"I know I can, but I just...I can't up and leave."

"Bella," Esme said, drawing my attention back to her. "I remember when you were waiting to hear back from them. And I remember how disappointed you were when you didn't get the job. This is the chance you've been waiting for and just think of all the business that could come your way by having your photos out there."

"But the twins..." I said, even though I was wavering.

"You've been amazing with them, but you're not abandoning them, Bella. And just think of the story you can tell them when they're older." Esme said.

"Come on, Bella." Rose said. "You know you want to say yes."

"I do." I said and nodded my head. "But I just...what about Jasper?"

"What about him?" Charlotte asked. "He'll understand."

"Shouldn't I talk to him about this too?"

"Why?" Rose asked. "You aren't married or dating."

"But we are raising kids together. Kids he will have to take care of while I'm gone."

"And he won't be alone in that. He has a whole plethora of people to pick up the slack if he needs a break. It's not like you're going to leave without a plan in place. He'll understand." Rose said.

"Say yes, Bella." Esme prodded as Rose and Charlotte nodded along in agreement with her words.

I sighed and leaned back against the couch, thinking about all they'd said and how much I really wanted to do this. Finally, I nodded.

"Okay, I'm going to say a tentative yes." I said, coming to a decision.

"You're going to talk to Jasper first, aren't you?" Esme asked.

"I have to. I know all of you say he'll understand, but I can't say an outright yes until I at least discuss it with him."

"Alright, Bella." Esme said, patting my hand. "But promise me that no matter what you will think about going."

"I promise," I said before looking at Charlotte. "I guess we should head back."

She nodded and stood as did Rose, who hugged me and said, "Call me in the morning and let me know if I need to meet you at the studio, okay?"

"I will." I said.

She stepped back with a smile and after a hug from Esme, Charlotte and I went out to my car.

The drive back to the house was filled with Charlotte and I discussing the places I could possible see and we had a pretty good list by the time I'd pulled into the garage. When we walked into the back door, I could hear the twins giggles floating out from the living room, so we immediately headed that way.

Peter was on the floor with them, rolling a ball back and forth. Or he was trying to. It didn't seem to be working, since they appeared to want to eat it every time it came near them and he would have to reach over and take it back.

Jasper, however, wasn't in the room.

"Where is Jasper?" I asked.

"He went to take a shower." Peter said before asking. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah,," I answered as I settled on the floor next to the twins.

Now that I was back in their vicinity, the thought of leaving them made me want to cry and almost call Tanya. I didn't though, because while I could add it to the con column, I couldn't base my decision on just this. I had to think about everything.

"Bella..." Peter said, drawing my attention to him. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm sure," I said, taking the ball from him and starting to play with the twins.

He watched me for a few seconds before moving up onto the couch beside Charlotte. I heard her whisper she'd tell him what was going on in a little bit and I gave her smile when she glanced over at me.

The twins and I played until Jasper came back downstairs and into the living room.

As I looked up he said, "You're back."

"I am. Are you ready to go to lunch?" I asked. It was a little early and would be more a brunch, but I really wanted to get the conversation out of the way.

"Sure." He said before turning to Peter and Charlotte. "Are you guys sure you're okay with watching them?"

"Of course," Charlotte said. "You two take your time."

I smiled at her and then leaned down, kissing both the twins on their heads. Jasper moved around and did the same before we both walked out of the living room.

When we made it into the kitchen Jasper asked, "Do you want to take your car or mine?"

"It doesn't matter." I said.

He grabbed his keys as I pulled the door open.

Once we were on the road, he asked, "Any where specific?"

"Just somewhere we can talk." I said.

He nodded and we fell silent for the rest of the drive. It wasn't awkward, but you could tell we both had something on our minds. It didn't take long for us to get into downtown Seattle and we found a small cafe with outdoor seating.

Jasper parked and then we walked inside the building, requesting a table outside, since the cloudy day allowed us privacy. We were seated immediately and ordered our drinks before moving on to look at the menu. Neither one of us spoke until the waitress brought us our drinks and we'd ordered. But as soon as the waitress walked back inside Jasper spoke.

"I'm so sorry, Bella," he said. "I never should have said the things I did to you the other night. I knew they would hurt you and I did it anyway. I have no excuse except that I'm an ass and even that is a cop out. I just hope you know that that is not what I really think of you. I could never think of you that way. And I swear I will never go that far again. You will never know how sorry I am."

"I know you're sorry, Jasper." I said when he stopped talking. "And I forgive you, but I don't want to continue to have that night thrown in my face. You've done it twice now and I wasn't the only one there."

"I know you weren't, Bella."

"Then why do you do it? I told you on Thursday that I've never regretted that night. And I don't want to, but if I'm made to feel like it is wrong by the only other person who was there, then I eventually will."

He waited a moment to answer, since the waitress chose that moment to bring out our food. Once she was gone again, he said, "I don't want you to regret that night because I don't either. I'm sorry if I made you feel like it wrong. Why I have thrown it in your face is because it's the only thing I've had to hold against you. The only thing I can use to make you feel as low as I do. God, I suck."

I laughed and shook my head. "You don't suck. You are a guy though and guys tend to not think before they speak. I don't want it to happen again though."

"It won't, I promise." He said. "I know how much it hurt you and I don't plan on doing that ever again."

"I trust you to keep that promise," I said.

"I will," He said, with a nod before looking down. After a few seconds, he glanced back up and gave me a small smile before he asked, "So, are we okay?"

I closed my eyes for a moment, knowing now was the time, and when I opened them I said, "We're okay, but I need to talk to you about something else."

"Is it about what you needed to see Esme about?"

"It is."

"Can it wait until we're done eating?"

"It can, but I'd really like to get it out there."

"Okay," He said, sitting his fork down and giving me his undivided attention.

Taking a deep breath, I explained everything. I told him how I'd applied for the job, how I hadn't been chosen, about the phone call this morning, about what I'd talked to Esme and the girls about, and then ended with my sorta decision.

He was quiet for so long the waitress came back and I went ahead and asked her to take our plates, since our food was cold. I had a feeling we wouldn't be very hungry when we were done anyway.

When he finally spoke, I didn't miss the anger in his voice. "Why did you want to talk to me about this? It seems like you already made your decision."

"While I want to say yes, I know that you have a right to an opinion too, Esme is there, but you'll be the one that will be taking care of the twins the most."

"Well, the twins will be fine, if that is what you're worried about. I know how to take care of them."

"I know you can; you've proved that over and over again. I just didn't want you to think I was up and leaving without taking your thoughts on the matter into account."

"Fine, my thoughts are that I gave up everything to come here; my home, my job, and then eventually my girlfriend, because you practically begged me to. You didn't want to talk about it at all and I had no time to think about anything. And now that you're the one that has to give something up, you want to be given the opportunity to do what you wouldn't allow me. It doesn't work that way, Bella. You don't get to decide my future and then just tell me what yours will be."

"The situations are completely different, Jasper, and you know it." I said as my own anger began to rise.

"No, they really aren't, Bella, because they both affect the twins." He said, leaning forward. "What happens if National Geographic likes what you do so much that they offer you a job? Would you say no?"

"Yes, I would."

"Why? It's a once in a lifetime opportunity, just like this job apparently is."

"Because that's not what Alice and Edward wanted." I said, feeling tears well up in my eyes.

"That's right, Bella. They wanted us to raise those babies. Not just me and not just you, but both of us. They may be little, but they'll know you aren't there and that will affect them."

"You didn't seem to have a problem with that when you had Maria and wasn't coming home at night." I snapped.

He sat back quickly like I'd punched him and I knew immediately that I'd hit him with a low blow.

"Jasper, I-"

"Don't, Bella." He said, cutting me off.

"But-"

"No," He said standing up. "I just made you a promise and you trusted me to keep it. And the only way to do that is for you not to say anything else. I'm going to go pay and you need call that Tanya woman and tell her that you decided to take the job. I think we both need the space from each other it will provide. The twins will be fine while you're gone and when you get back we'll then talk about whether or not we can continue doing things the way we are because it doesn't seem to be working anymore. I'll be in the truck when you're ready."

Stunned by his words, I could only stare at him. He didn't say anything else before he turned and walked inside the restaurant without looking back.

I leaned back in my chair and thought about everything he'd said and eventually came to a decision and that was that he was right. The space would be a good thing because we really couldn't keep going like this. We couldn't be friends one day and fighting the next. We couldn't keep flinging words at each other and thinking that an apology would fix it because eventually it wouldn't. So, if space to think was what was needed to let all of what we both seemed to still be holding onto go and be the parents Alice and Edward wanted us to be, then I only had one answer for Tanya.

Pulling my phone from my pocket, I sat with it in my hand for five minutes before I pulled up her number. When she answered, I told her that I would take the job.

I couldn't muster the same enthusiasm she could as she thanked me over and over for getting back to her so quickly. And I only listened with half an ear as she told me to expect all the information I would need by the end of the week. Once I gave her the address to house, I told her goodbye and hung up.

Leaning my head in my hands, I let myself cry until the waitress came out to wipe down the table. As I stood she gave me a look, but thankfully didn't say anything. I wiped my eyes as best as I could as I walked inside and then out to Jasper's truck. As soon as I was buckled and had the door shut he started the truck up and pulled from the lot.

The entire drive was spent in tense silence and when we pulled into the garage at home, he made no move to get out or turn the truck off. I knew what he wanted and I also knew he didn't want to hear an apology, but as I climbed from the truck I knew I couldn't let him go without him knowing that I was sorry.

As I was shutting the door I whispered, "I'm sorry," before closing it all the way and walking quickly inside.

Peter, Charlotte, and the twins were in the kitchen eating lunch and they all looked my way when I stepped through the door.

"He's in the truck, Peter," I said, causing him to stand and move my way immediately.

His hand gripped my shoulder briefly before he walked around me and out into the garage. Charlotte and I didn't speak until I heard Jasper's truck start up again and back out.

"I take it, it didn't go well." She said, standing up and coming over to me.

I shook my head. "No, it didn't." I said. "I'm going though.

"Bella..." Charlotte said.

"I don't want to talk about it, Charlotte. Not because I don't want you to know, but because..." I said, trailing off before I cried again.

She seemed to understand though and nodded her head. "Okay. Well, how about we get the little ones cleaned up and take them to the park."

I looked over at Aiden and Kinsley and received two big grins in return. "Yeah," I said. "Let's do that."

I'd made my decision and I would have to deal with what the fallout with Jasper would be when I came back. But right now, looking at the twins, I didn't want to worry about that. For the next two weeks, all I wanted to do, was focus all my attention and spend as much time as I could with them.

**-TG-**

**So, I didn't plan for them to have that big of a fight, but that's how it went. Things will start looking up though.**

**Up next: Two weeks later on the day Bella leaves for her trip. **


	20. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: Yeah I don't own it. I just like to turn all of them human and have my fun with them.**

**The wonderful christag_banner made me a beautiful banner. Link is on my profile.**

**I still have the facebook group for my stories as well as the blog. Link for the group is on my profile. There is also a link for a the Twilight Non-Canon group. If you want to join click on the link and request entry. Remember though it is strictly for NON-CANON discussions and stories.**

**SO SO SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG**

**This wasn't betaed so mistakes are mine.**

_**ENJOY...**_

**-TG-**

_**Jasper**_

_**Two ****weeks ****later****...**_

I stretched my neck as I shut the door to the twins room and made my way down the hall to mine. Bella had only been gone hours and already it sucked. Honestly though, the last two weeks had sucked.

I don't know if it was my pride or my fear that she wouldn't come back that kept me from talking to her about her trip, or anything really. Talking about it with her meant she was really going. Talking about it would bring all the worse case scenarios to the forefront of my mind and while I tried not to imagine what could happen, late at night when the house was quiet, they had a funny way of invading my thoughts.

Deep down, I knew that even if the writer was a guy she probably wouldn't fall for him. I knew, because she loved the twins like they were her own, that she wouldn't accept a job to travel if it was offered. I knew that in a month she would be home and she would stay here. I knew all of this, but it still didn't make her leaving any easier. And I really hated the way she left.

Dropping down onto the bed, I threw my arm over my eyes.

I should have told Bella goodbye and to be careful. I should have been the one to take her to the airport and tell her not to worry about anything, that she just needed to enjoy her trip and that the twins and I would be waiting for her to come back. I should have done and said, or not said as the case may be, a lot of things lately, instead I let my anger and jealousy override everything. I wasn't proud of the way I acted and if my mama was still alive she'd have beat my ass many times for just thinking the things I've said.

I needed to fix this with Bella because I'd come to find that the only life I wanted was the one I had now. I needed to show her that I was in this and that there was no getting rid of me. Once she saw that, then maybe one day I could even tell her how I felt and have her return those same feelings.

Sighing, I lay there for a few minutes longer and let the day drain away or as much of it as I could. I couldn't do anything about fixing things until Bella came back, except take care of the twins and with them sleeping there wasn't much taking care I could do.

I pushed myself up and went to take a shower. When I was finished, I grabbed my laptop and stretched back out on the bed. I wasn't tired yet and a movie sounded like a good way to keep the thoughts from swirling around in my head.

I waited while my computer booted up and once it had, I pulled up my email. I went through what was there, deleting the junk mail and reading the notice from school that alerted me to when I had to report to work.

After I moved it over to a separate folder, my eyes fell on the last email and at first I thought I was seeing things. Blinking a few times, I realized that there actually was an email from Bella waiting for me.

Taking a deep breath, I moved the cursor over it and let it hover for just a second before clicking it open and starting to read...

**XXX**

**To:** WhitlockJ at seattleschools dot org

**From:** photoswan at yahoo dot com

**Subject:** I'm sorry

_Dear Jasper,_

_I don't know if you'll read this or just delete it, but I have to try. I know that this is something we should probably talk about face to face, but with the way things have been going for us I thought it would be easier to do it this way._

_There are a lot of things that need to be said, so please if you've made it to this point, keep reading._

_In the last two weeks, I've had a lot of time to think and I need to tell you that I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for everything because I've put the blame of almost all of what's happened with us on you and that's not fair. I'm not blameless at all._

_When Alice and Edward died, my grief was so great that there were moments that I didn't think anything would ever be right again. Then Seth told us about the twins and at that second, when he said that they could be ours, it was like Alice and Edward were still alive and everything was going to be okay. That it was this bad dream I could wake up from. But then, you wanted to talk about it and it was like I was doused in ice water and everything came rushing back._

_At the time, I saw it as you were just being difficult or that you didn't care about them like I did. I realize now that you were just trying to be smart about it. It was this huge, life changing decision and to go into it blindly wasn't something that should have happened. Would the choice have been different? I don't think it would have been, but our reactions might have been what was different. We would have been better prepared and we would have made the choice together._

_I'm sorry for how I dealt with the whole Maria situation. Yes, you read that right. I still hate her and think she is a horrible human being, but the way I brought it up wasn't the way to go. I see now that I should have talked to you about it, instead of just insisting that you do the things I thought you should. I shouldn't have let it get so far out of hand that all it was bound to do was cause a fight, which it did. I know that she was your last hold on the life you had to give up and I should have been more understanding._

_The thing I'm most sorry for though is how I handled this trip. You were right. This decision wasn't just mine to make anymore and while I did think about everything, I never should have decided to go until I had talked everything out with you. It wasn't fair of me to expect you to just be okay with it and accept it as what was going to happen. And getting mad and upset with you for having the same reaction I did when it came to you was so very wrong._

_I know I still left, but I'm hoping that the distance will help us to figure out what we need to do, so that when I get back we aren't at each others throats anymore. Whether it's emailing back and forth, talking out what we have issues with or what we're holding grudges about, talking on the phone, or just doing a lot of thinking on both sides._

_It's up to you Jasper. If you would rather take this time just to get some space, I'll only call to speak to the twins. If you want to go the other way, then that would be great. I realized on the plane that I don't know you. I know the basics, but not what made you the man I know you are; the person that Edward and Alice cared about enough to entrust their children with. I'd like to get to know him and in turn let him get to know me._

_In a sense, I guess I'm asking if we can start over. If we can go back to the beginning and while not forget anything, learn from it. If you want I can go first, telling you something you don't know. You can ask me anything and I'll answer honestly._

_I think I'm going to go now. I hope your day was good and you're still reading. Tell Aiden and Kinsley I love them and give them kisses for me. I'll call tomorrow night, if that's okay._

_Sincerely, Bella_

**XXX**

I sat back against my headboard, reading the email for a second and then a third time. I hadn't expected this at all, but I was glad to see it. It showed that Bella wanted to fix this too and I was going to take her up on getting to know each other more.

After reading the email once again and thinking about what I wanted to say, I hit reply and started typing. An hour and a half later, I was finally satisfied. As I reread through what I'd written I realized that it probably wasn't what Bella meant by getting to know me. Yes, I'd asked her a question that I wanted to know about her, but I'd also listened to my gut too and as I typed the words it was like a weight had lifted off my shoulders.

The ball was in her court now and whether or not this went the way I hoped, I would know for sure.

**-TG-**

**Well? How was it? **

**Up Next: Jasper's email and other stuff. **


	21. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: Yeah I don't own it. I just like to turn all of them human and have my fun with them.**

**The wonderful christag_banner made me a beautiful banner. Link is on my profile.**

**I still have the facebook group for my stories as well as the blog. Link for the group is on my profile. There is also a link for a the Twilight Non-Canon group. If you want to join click on the link and request entry. Remember though it is strictly for NON-CANON discussions and stories.**

**Thank you to the wonderful emz3010, who makes this prettier for you guys. **

_**ENJOY...**_

**-TG-**

_**Bella**_

_**San**__**Diego**_

_Ring__...__ring__...__ring__..._

Groaning, I reached blindly for the phone and pulled it from the cradle.

"Hello," I said after putting it to my ear.

_"Ms. Swan, this is your six am wake-up call."_

"Thank you," I said before hanging the phone back up.

Blinking my eyes open, I stretched and climbed out of bed. I had to be ready to meet Tia, the writer from National Geographic, at 7:30 in the lobby. We were going to have breakfast and then head to the zoo.

I trudged into the bathroom and took a quick shower. Then decided to put on a simple pair of jeans, a t-shirt, some tennis shoes, and throw my hair up into a ponytail. It was probably going to be a long day and I wanted to be comfortable.

Once I was dressed, I still had about 15 minutes to go before I had to be downstairs, so I pulled up my email.

Sitting right below an offer for a free bottle of diet pills, was a return email from Jasper. I couldn't help let out a sigh of relief at seeing that he'd answered me back.

By-passing everything else, I quickly opened it and started to read...

**To:** photoswan at yahoo dot com

**From:** WhitlockJ at seattleschools dot com

**Subject: re:** I'm sorry

_Dear Bella,_

_I have to say I was surprised to find an email from you, but I wasn't upset by it. And I think you're right, this will be easier. So here goes..._

_Thank you for apologizing and I accept your apology for almost all of it. I can't and won't accept it for Maria, as there is nothing you need to be sorry about when it comes to her. She was a mistake that I should have rectified long before I even came to Seattle. I never loved her and should have not gotten defensive when you were telling me the same things that Peter and Charlotte were constantly saying. She didn't deserve to have me in her corner anymore than you deserved the way I acted toward you while she was in the picture. I'm glad she's gone and I'm so thankful that she has stayed that way._

_Now I need to offer my own apologies._

_I'm sorry for not being there from the beginning as I promised I would be. It doesn't matter that we should have talked it out because you're right, my answer would have still been the same. I made a promise to you, the twins, Alice and Edward, and the rest of the Cullen family that day and I broke it the first chance I got. Thank you for allowing me back in when you could have walked away and washed your hands of me._

_I'm sorry for everything I've said in anger towards you. I know I've said it before, but I need to say it again because I don't think I can ever say it enough. It's not right or fair of me to continue to bring up things that I was also a part of, especially when I wouldn't change anything about that night._

_Most of all I'm sorry for the same thing that you are. My reaction to your trip was uncalled for and completely wrong. You've never once asked for anything since we took in the twins. You lied to Esme when I was being stupid and you do everything in your power to make sure the twins are happy. Did you go about it the wrong way? Maybe! But you deserve to have this and I should have been more supportive. I should have been happy for you, instead of acting like a douche. I'm sorry I gave you the silent treatment the last two weeks and let you leave without saying goodbye. I'm sorry for not telling you to enjoy your trip and to have fun. When you get back the twins and I will be here, ready to hear all about it._

_I hope you can accept my apologies because I've come to realize that the life I have now, with you and the twins, is the one I want. I couldn't imagine being in another place._

_Telling you that now, brings me to starting over. I like the idea of getting to know you on a much deeper level. I'd like to know what made you the woman you are today._

_I'd like to know the woman I've come to care about in more than just a platonic way._

_Yes, you read that right. Peter told me to wait to tell you until I was sure where we stood, but to me, getting to know each other means not having secrets._

_I want a relationship with you. I want to take you out, have lazy days where all we do is watch movies, and be the person you turn to when you have a bad day. I want to raise the twins with you and maybe one day in the future be a true family._

_I know this probably comes completely out of left field and I know I'm running the risk of scaring you away, but I just need you to know how I feel because I'm so tired of not knowing if there is a chance. Hell, you might not even believe me after the way I've acted. But it's the truth and I've known it for a while._

_I know you'll probably say what happens if it doesn't work out. I've asked myself the same thing and have come up with only one answer. Nothing in life is a guarantee. With the loss of Edward and Alice we've learned that in the most difficult way possible._

_I'm aware that we could find that a romantic relationship between us doesn't work, but I don't want to not try just because I'm scared of what may happen. I think we would be amazing together_

_So...*deep breath in*...I'm asking if we can try?_

_Before you answer, please think about it. Take the rest of your trip if you have to because I don't want you to say yes or not without thinking it through. If you find that your gut tells you that the answer is no, then please believe that I won't hold it against you. We will continue to raise the twins together and I won't mention it again._

_Okay, now that I've probably shocked you completely I think I will move on to the getting to know you part of your email. I know you said to ask you anything, so here goes..._

_First...your trip? What will you be seeing or doing? I want to know any and everything about it. I should have asked this before you left, but thanks to my stubborn pride I don't even know where you are right now. So, leave nothing out._

_And second...your mother? I've never heard you mention her and I've always wondered why. If it's not a subject you want to go into though, I'll understand._

_Well, I think that's it. Thank you again for reaching out and I hope that I didn't drop too much on you at once._

_I'll tell the twins that you love them and will give them hugs and kisses from you. I do have a suggestion about the phone call though. Do you have Skype? I ask because that way you can see them too. My Skype name is J. Whitlock and my avi is a music note. If you send me a contact request, I'll accept and have it ready to go for when you get a chance to call._

_I'm going to go now. Be safe and I will talk to and maybe see you soon._

_Sincerely, Jasper_

I finished reading and sat back, reaching up to wipe tears away as I stared at the email. I hadn't expected what he wrote at all, especially the part about what Charlotte had already tried to tell me. He was right in the sense that things weren't a guarantee and I knew that couples with children broke up every day, I was living proof of that. But I had to ask myself, was it worth putting ourselves in a situation that had the potential to hurt so many people? I honestly didn't know the answer to that and unfortunately I didn't have the time to dwell on it, as I only had a couple minutes before I needed to be in the lobby.

While I decided to think about everything else later, I did take a moment to find Jasper's Skype account and send off a contact request. It was thoughtful of him to suggest it and I was going to take him up on the offer.

After powering my laptop down and setting it to the side, I checked my camera bag to make sure I had everything I needed. Once I was satisfied it was all there, I slipped my wallet and room key into the inside pocket and headed out to start the day.

Tia was already waiting and after saying good morning we made our way over to the continental breakfast. We ate quickly and silently since we didn't have to iron out any plans, having gone over everything about today during dinner last night. And because I couldn't seem to keep my mind from going back to Jasper's email and thinking about what he'd asked.

Once we were finished, we threw our trash out and walked out to the rental car to head to the zoo and our 8:30 meeting with the zoo director.

**-****TG****-**

_**Six **__**hours **__**later**__**...**_

I leaned my head against the back of the elevator as the doors slid closed. It hadn't necessarily been a long day, compared to what I did normally, but between the different schedule and my thoughts I was exhausted.

"You okay?" Tia asked.

Glancing over, I nodded and said, "Tired."

"Yeah, the different schedule can take it out of you. It will get easier the more stops we make though."

"That's good," I said as I once again leaned my head back.

As I did Jasper's email flashed through my head and I realized that I still wasn't sure how I was going to answer the part about trying. I knew it would help to talk about it, but who did I turn to. Alice would have been my first choice hands down, since she was able to see the big picture right away instead of just the immediate reward. And I had a feeling if I asked Esme, Rose, or Charlotte they would tell me to just go for it and not worry about something that hadn't happened yet.

Sighing at my dilemma, I saw Tia glance over at me in the reflection of the door. It was then that I realized that I did have someone to talk to, someone who didn't know us and would have an unbiased opinion.

When the door opened on our floor and we stepped out I asked, "Tia, do you think it would be okay to speak to you for a minute about a personal matter?"

"Of course," she said and motioned me down the hallway toward her room.

Once we were both inside, we perched on the small sofa and I told her everything, starting with Alice and Edward and ending with Jasper's email. I also explained why I wanted to talk to her, someone I'd only known a day about it.

When I finished, she sat back and just looked at me for a few minutes before she said, "I don't know how much my advice will help, but I'll give it anyway.

"Alright," I said.

"First," she said. "I think you need to ask yourself a few questions. One, have you ever thought about what a relationship with him would be like? Two, do you think there is a chance you could be really happy with him? And three, do you think the risk is worth the love and happiness you could possibly find with him?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but she stopped me and continued on. "If, at this exact moment, the answer is yes then you tell him you're willing to try. If the answer is no, then you tell him no. And if the answer is, for lack of a better word, maybe then you do what you've started and what he has requested. You take this time a part and really think about it. You get to know each other on a deeper level and when you get home you follow your heart. And if you find that a romantic relationship isn't what you want, then you both talk it out and deal with it so you can continue to be the parents your friends entrusted you to be."

When she finished, I sat back and let my mind go over everything she'd said along with everything else. After a few minutes of silence, I knew how I would answer Jasper in the email.

"Thank you," I said. "You did help."

"You're welcome. I'm glad I could be of service." She said with a smile.

I returned it and pushed myself off the couch. "I guess I'll go to my room now and send an email. We're still meeting in here at six for dinner and to go over the pictures, right?"

"Yes." she answered with a nod. "We'll order room service and while we wait for it to arrive we can start narrowing down the ones we want to use."

"Alright, I'll see you in a few hours then." I said as I moved toward the door.

After a wave, I headed out to the hall and down to my room.

Once I let myself inside, I toed off my shoes and went straight for my laptop, sitting down in front of it. I tapped my foot impatiently as I waited for it to power up and when it did, I went straight for my email.

As soon as I had a new email pulled up, I started typing. It didn't take me nearly as long as I thought it would and I was just about to hit send when Skype popped up, alerting me to a call from Jasper.

I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face and quickly hit send on the email before answering. It took a second for the picture to come up and then there all three of them were.

"Hey guys," I said as tears welled up in my eyes. It had only been a day, but I'd missed them.

"Beh..," Kinsley squealed and reached her hand out to the screen.

Aiden, however, didn't seem to care as he kept playing with the toy in his hand. It was okay though.

"Hey Bella," Jasper said after a few seconds, bringing my eyes to his.

"Hey." I said and gave him a small smile.

He returned it before he asked, "How was your day?"

"Good, I'm tired though. I think I might try and take a nap before dinner." I said before I asked, "How was your day? How did they do last night?"

"It rained most of the day, so we stayed inside, but they were good. Last night they ate a good dinner and then went to bed easy."

"That's good," I said with a small nod.

We fell silent for the next few minutes as I just sat watching them. Finally, they seemed to get impatient with being in Jasper's lap and they started fussing to be let down.

Before he let them go, he adjusted Kinsley to the middle of his lap and tapped the screen.

"Wave bye to Bella guys," he said and they immediately held their little hands up.

I waved my own hand as I said, "bye guys, I love you and I miss you."

They both started squirming again and Jasper laughed as he set them down on the floor.

"And they're off," he said as he looked back at the screen with a smile.

It slipped from his face as he saw me wipe a tear that had escaped.

"You okay?" he asked worry clear in his voice.

"Yeah, I just miss them already."

"Well, we can do this anytime." he said.

"I know. I think it'll have to be every other day though." I said. "That's when I'm in one place all day and can call before they go to bed."

"Alright, but I'll make sure it's on all the time just in case."

"Thank you," I said.

"You're welcome, Bella," he said, just as a yawn worked it's way out.

Jasper chuckled and I said, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I'll let you go, so you can get some rest."

"Alright," I said. "I'll talk to you in a couple days."

"We'll be here." He said and reached up like he was going to disconnect the call.

Before he could though, I said, "by the way, you have mail."

He grinned and said, "thank you."

I couldn't help but smile back before I said, "bye Jasper."

"Bye Bella," he said, before he hung up.

I sat there, staring at the screen for a few seconds before the exhaustion made my eyes grow heavy. Shutting the lid to my laptop, I stood and moved over to the bed. As I stretched out on it I couldn't help but wonder if he was already reading.

**-TG-**

**Well? How did you guys like Jasper's email? Do you think Bella will say yes, no, or maybe?**

**Up next: Bella is in Hawaii**


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